
IN THE 



LIGHT OF Bible 
Prophecy 





World's Crisis Series 

CIRRENT \ UMBERS 



World Peace in the I>,i<il5t of Prophecy (new) 

His (ilorious Appearing: An Exposition of Matthew 24 

Our Paradise Home 

Helps to Bible Study (in preparation) 

The Other Side of Deatli 

The Shadow of tlie Bottle 

Spiritualism vs. Christianity 

The Christian Sabbath: Is It Saturday or Sunday? 

The Food Question: Health and Economy 

World Problems 

128 pages, well illustrated. Price, 25c 



Review and Herald Publishing Association 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 
South Bend, Ind. New York, N. Y. 



"70? 



World Peace 




From Dore's beautiful painting 

" THE WOKLP AT PEACE " 
2 



World Peace 



In the Light of Bible Prophecy 



" Peace 1 leave with you. My peace I give 
unto you : not as the world giveth, give I 
unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, 
neither let it be afraid." John 14: 27. 



REVIEW & HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION 

Washington, D. C. 

new york, n. y. south bend. ind. 




After G. Hillyard's " The White Comrade " 

THE CUP OF COLD WATER ON THE BATTLEFIELD 
" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ... ye have 



done it unto Me." — Jesus. 

'Ci.A513356 



<^ 



CONTENTS 



The World Outlook ----- 7 

The Bolshevist Germ - - - - 17 

A League of Nations ----- 37 

The Nations Fulfilling Prophecy - - 59 

The Eastern Question and Armageddon - 75 
The Blessed Hope of the Second Coming of 

Christ - - - - - - 93 

Signs of Christ's Soon Coming - - 103 

The Next Universal Kingdom - - - 115 



Copyright, 1919, 

Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 

Washington, D. C. 



-4 1919 




© C. Arnold Slade. Photo, Curtis & Cameron. (Adapted.) 
THE ONE WHO CARES 
"Surely He hath borne oar sriefs, and carried our sorrows." — Isai^. 



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From the Arts of War to the Pursuits of Peace 



THE WORLD OUTLOOK 

The Magnitude of the Great World War 

The world has emerged from four years of devas- 
tating conflict. During this period there were issued 
fifty-nine declarations of war, and thirty-three manifes- 
toes severing diplomatic relations. In all, thirty-four 
nations participated in the most destructive war recorded 
on the pages of history. It was in fact a world war. 
Every nation under heaven was affected either directly 
or indirectly. It is estimated by conservative statisti- 
cians that the loss of man-power to the belligerents 
amounts to nearly seven million killed, and between two 
and three times that number wounded. More than two 
hundred billion dollars have been expended for war 
establishments, equipment, and operation. 

But these colossal losses in human blood and indi- 
vidual and national treasure by no means represent the 
full measure of destruction. There must be taken into 

7 




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Surrender of German Submarines 




IILstoric City of Sedan, Scene of the French Surrender, 1870 
Captured by American Troops. 1918 




© Commiciee on Public Information. Photo from Western Newspaper Union 

American Army of Occupation on the March to the Rhine 

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GERMAN FORTRESS ON THE RHINE OCCUPIED BY AMEKHAN TR0(M'S 
Capacity, 100,000 Men. 

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The World Outlook 13 

account the devastated land area of Belgium and north- 
ern France, blood-soaked and disfigured by shot and 
shell and trench, so that it will take years to bring it 
back to its original high state of cultivation. There 
must be considered also the broken family ties and thou- 
sands of orphaned children and widowed wives; the 
ruined cities and devastated palaces and treasures of 
art and rare architecture which no reparation or in- 
demnities can reproduce. It would seem that the most 
wanton lust for blood would find satisfaction, and even 
satiety, in the horrible orgies of unbridled license and 
cruel savagery practised upon the helpless Armenians 
and others who have suffered torture, outrage, and mas- 
sacre by their enemies. Who can measure the depth of 
human anguish and woe which the last four years of 
strife have brought to the nations of men? Only the 
records of heaven and the judgment of the last great 
day can reveal all its horror. 

The T'wilight Zone Between Two Civilizations 

Peace came at last. It was virtually a war of attri- 
tion, at least to several of the nations engaged, and it 
will take long years for little Belgium, which stood the 
first onslaught of the contest, and for heroic France, 
which was bled well-nigh white in her brave defense 
of her homes and firesides, to recover. Indeed, Europe 
even as a whole can never recover what has been lost. 
The Europe of four years ago has passed away. We 
live today in the twilight zone between past and future 
civilizations. The past is history, the future is unknown, 
except in so far as God has been pleased to reveal it to 
us in His prophetic Word. 

It is with commingled feelings of hope, perplexity, 
and dread that men of all nations look into the future 
and contemplate its possibilities. If from the terrible 
conflict of the last four years, the world has emerged 



14 World Peace 

into a higher life, into a more enlightened civilization ; if 
the nations of men have learned that might does not 
make right, that kings have no divine right to rule, that 
class distinctions do not exist in God's great order, that 
civilized nations should adjust their differences by arbi- 
tration, counsel, and adjudication, the same as civilized 
individuals, — if, indeed, these lessons have been learned, 
then the great baptism of blood through which the na- 
tions have passed will not have been altogether in vain. 
But have these lessons been learned? And will these 
hopes which fill the hearts of many in every nation be 
realized? What does the future hold in store for the 
world? Has war, as suggested by a newspaper writer, 
"committed suicide"? Will stable peace ensue as a re- 
sult of the negotiations at the peace table? And if in- 
ternational peace can be secured and maintained, will 
the several nations be able to preserve domestic tran- 
quillity? 

Some of the Problems of Peace 

These are certainly pertinent questions for the states- 
men of every country to consider. It is safe to say that 
the chancelleries of Europe face problems more difficult 
and trying than they have ever faced before. There 
must be settled, not alone the questions of indemnities 
to be assessed to the Central Powers, not alone the ques- 
tion of the status of the Turkish Empire, which for long 
centuries has been the bone of contention among the 
nations of Europe, but the territorial status of all the 
other nationalities which are demanding separate ex- 
istence and autonomy in government. There is also the 
question of the Jewish state in Palestine, to the estab- 
lishment of which the British ministry has committed 
itself. 

Added to the great international problems, there are, 
as before intimated, grave questions of domestic concern. 



The World Outlook 15 

Indirectly, the conflict of the ages between capital and 
labor will be intensified in coming days. During the war 
these questions were in a measure held in abeyance. 
But in the effort by each country to re-establish favor- 
able commercial and economic conditions on the seven 
seas, national competition will inevitably ensue, and the 
spirit of rivalry cannot help but be carried into every 
domestic and foreign relationship. There will still be 
the same struggle for existence on the part of the 
laboring man, the same combinations of trade on the 
part of capital, the same competition between the great 
commercial nations. 

In society we see powerful disintegrating elements at 
Work. The Bolshevist theory of government, so-called, 
is finding sympathizers and advocates in every land. 
The danger attending the spread of this mischievous 
philosophy, judging from the influence it has exerted in 
the great Russian Empire, is one which must be guarded 
against by every civilized government. Whereunto will 
this movement grow? What will the future of civiliza- 
tion prove to be? How will these and other after- war 
problems be solved? 

We are not left wholly in ignorance regarding the 
final outcome of these important issues. God holds a 
checkrein on the nations. His hand shapes and molds 
the destinies of mankind. In His Holy Book His 
purposes are plainly delineated. Through His inspired 
penmen He has revealed the meaning of many of the 
important phenomena which are taking place in the 
great world today. It is to a discussion of these prob- 
lems as related to prophetic interpretation that the 
attention of the reader is invited in the pages of this 
book. 




Photo, U. & U., N. Y. 

Bread Line in Petrograd 
" Injustice and Hunger are the Parents of Bolshevism ' 



THE BOLSHEVIST GERM 

The Spread of Bolshevism 

Among the problems confronting- the world at the 
present moment, the one attracting the most attention 
and exciting the deepest apprehension, is the develop- 
ment of Bolshevism, a movement so violent as to threaten 
to destroy modern civilization itself. 

Securing its initial foothold in Russia, where 180,- 
000,000 liberty-loving people, after centuries of oppres- 
sion, are struggling toward freedom, Bolshevism has 
spread from one nation to another until it is felt and 
feared the world over. 

What is Bolshevism? What is its origin? Who are 
its leaders? What is its aim or philosophy? Is it akin 
to Socialism or Anarchism, or what? 

What Bolshevism is Not 

Bolshevism is hard to define. Even its promoters 
are not clear in their definitions. It is easier, perhaps, 
to say what it is not. 

2 17 



18 World Peace 

1. Bolshevism is not democratic, and does not pro- 
pose the establishment of a genuine democracy, or gov- 
ernment of the people. As remarked by the Wo7id's 
Work, January, 1919, " the true inwardness of Bolshev- 
ism is understood only when its attitude toward the 
Constitutional Assembly is completely comprehended." 
That attitude will be better understood when it is stated 
that when, after the overthrow of the czar, such an 
assembly was elected by free vote of the whole Russian 
people, the Bolsheviki dispersed it by machine-gun fire, 
when it was found that a majority of the members were 
opposed to Bolshevism, and were in favor of establish- 
ing a genuine democracy in which all classes should be 
fairly represented and in which all, without distinction, 
should have a voice. 

2. Bolshevism is not a practical, constructive, social, 
industrial, or political philosophy. It is not identical 
with any other system of philosophy, though closely akin 
to several, and is apparently a by-product of several, 
such as State Socialism, Radical Socialism, Syndicalism, 
and the theories of the Industrial Workers of the World. 

3. Bolshevism is not identical with Socialism, as 
generally understood, not only because it lacks the prin- 
cipal constructive features of Socialism, but for the 
further reason that it excludes from participation in 
government all except the working class. When one 
speaks of Socialism in this day of the practical rather 
than the theoretical, he probably refers primarily to 
(a) state ownership of public utilities; (b) state own- 
ership of industries; and (c) the gradual appropria- 
tion by the state of accumulated wealth in the form of 
manufactures and other business. It is not urged by 
State Socialists that such a revolution be effected by 
disorderly methods or violence, but by legislation. They 
advocate, also, that business interests, when turned over 



The Bolshevist Germ 19 

to the state, shall be placed only in the hands of trained 
and educated managers, men of merit and of ability. 

4. Bolshevism is not even Radical Socialism, because 
it is nonconstructive. It is, however, very similar. The 
radical, or revolutionary. Socialists advocate much the 
same social and industrial doctrines as the conservative, 
or State, Socialists; but they would bring about the 
change " by an actual, physical revolution of the old 
gunpowder kind." This is like Bolshevism in so far as 
the violent methods of effecting revolution are con- 
cerned; but even the revolutionary Socialists would pre- 
serve general as well as local governments, and would 
attempt to place business in the hands of able men only. 

5. Bolshevism is not Syndicalism, precisely, though 
very similar. The Syndicalist " wants all the industries 
to be seized out of hand, not by the government, but by 
the individual workmen that happen to be working there. 
Seizure by individuals, by violence, if need be, and the 
elimination of all men of special training or ability, is 
the pith of it." This is the present method of Bolshev- 
ism, which is merely " czarism in overalls." 

6. Bolshevism is not a disease, though highly conta- 
gious. It is rather a symptom of the diseased condition 
of human society — a sore which has broken out on the 
body politic, revealing the passions that are always 
smoldering beneath the surface of human society. 

7. Bolshevism is not, as some imagine, a new thing. 
As remarked by the World*s Work for January, .1919, 
page 321, " it has been part of the speech of the Russian 
Empire for fifteen years." " It had its beginnings in 
1898, when a certain segment of the revolutionary forces 
in Russia split off and organized the Social Democratic 
party." Five years later this party split into two fac- 
tions, one known as the " Menshiviki,",or the minority; 
and the other the " Bolsheviki," or the majority. As 




(c) Committee on Public Inlormation. From Inter, t ilni ijervice, N. Y. 

Mrs. Wm. K. Vanderbilt and Her Assistants in Red Cross Work in Franc* 




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Red Cross Nurses Back from the Battle Front 

22 



The Bolshevist Germ 23 

defined by some, " Bolsheviki " has now come to mean 
the working people, since under Bolshevism only the 
proletariat (laboring class) can have any voice in the 
government. 

After the beginning of the Great War, Germany, by 
means of a secret propaganda, stirred up and financed 
a revival of the Bolshevist idea, or in other words, of 
the extreme revolutionary movement in Russia, this, of 
course, for the purpose of rendering the nation impo- 
tent as a military power. 

Bolshevism in Russia 

Bolshevism as it is, may perhaps be best understood 
by the woiking out of its principles in Russia, the only 
great nation where the advocates of these ideas have 
as yet secured control. In the World's Work, October, 
1918, page 623, we find this description of the work of 
the Bolsheviki in Russia: 

" They took over the banks, munition works, the railroads, and 
some municipal plants for the government. At any rate, the com- 
missaries put in charge were supposed to represent the govern- 
ment. This was done at the point of the bayonet. In these 
actions they might fairly be said to be making an effort to ex- 
periment in Revolutionary Socialism. But even the most radical 
Revolutionary Socialist would heatedly deny that they had given 
his proposition a fair chance. For they neglected the one final 
requirement — that the positions be scrupulously given to the 
ablest men. They were given without a single exception to the 
most ignorant and unskilled — office boys, peasants, soldiers. A 
large railroad system is now headed by a conductor. 

" But in innumerable other instances the stores, factories, and 
farms were handed directly over to the laborers or the neighbor- 
ing peasants by direct order from Smolny [the Bolshevik head- 
quarters in Russia]. This also, of course, was accomplished by 
violence or threat of violence. That is Syndicalism. It is exactly 
the doctrines of the I. W. W. That is, it is what they have 
preached, but are now inclined to deny. It is I. W. W. or worse. 

" They have abolished all police, all courts, all firemen, all 
street cleaning. 

" This is a part of the doctrine of anarchy. It may be a neces- 
sary by-product of Syndicalism. It has no place in the program 
of any Socialist or labor party. 



24 World Peace 

" All businesses, public and private, as well as regular govern- 
mental activities, are conducted by individuals with no previous 
training or experience. And it is a fact so well known — the 
universal experience — that it needs no elaboration, that every 
transaction, legitimate or otherwise, can only be consummated by 
personally bribing the official in charge." 

The Bolshevik standard of education is expressed in 
the words of their Russian leader to an American con- 
sul : " All the education any statesman needs is the three 
R's (reading, writing, and arithmetic)." 

Bolshevism and German Propaganda 

From both its history and its principles, it appears 
that Bolshevism owes its present development to Ger- 
man Radical Socialism. Previous to the time of the 
Russian Revolution of 1917, Bolshevism had not as- 
sumed menacing proportions, only about three per cent 
of the population of the country, or less than six mil- 
lion people, having joined this radical party. 

It is said that " the parents of Bolshevism are Injus- 
tice and Hunger." Russia was familiar with both. In 
1917 the Russian people rebelled against the injustice 
of czarism, and overturned the government. War con- 
ditions, made more acute by revolution, brought mil- 
lions to the verge of starvation. 

The German government, pressed on all sides by her 
many foes, was quick to perceive that her gi-eat enemy 
on the east might be eliminated from the conflict if 
the germ of Bolshevism could be scattered through the 
ranks of the restless, war-weary armies of Russia, and 
among the poorer classes of the country. The German 
Great General Staff, therefore, sent hundreds of skilled 
agitators through the Russian lines, with instruction to 
spread wherever possible this revolutionary propaganda. 

The German staff had made no mistake; the psycho- 
logical moment had come; the result was like a flame 
in a parched forest. The armies melted away, law and 



The Bolshevist Germ 25 

order soon disappeared, and the wildest of all wild rev- 
olutions known in the history of man was in full swing. 
From that time until the signing of the armistice, at 
least, the Russian Revolution was directed by the Ger- 
man Great General Staff, and was financed by the Ger- 
man Imperial Bank. 

When accused of supporting their movement in Rus- 
sia by German money, the Bolshevik leaders replied: 
" We make a Russian revolution on German money. 
Then we will make a German revolution on Russian 
money." 

In other words, the German Imperial Government 
kindled a fire for the destruction of her enemy, and 
through spies and other hired agents directed the work 
of ruin. And there was fuel in plenty in Russia. Op- 
pression, poverty, war-weariness, hunger, — all helped to 
fan the flames of revolution and rebellion against 
czarism. 

But now the wind has changed. The fortunes of war 
have turned, and the back fires of the conflagration are 
fanned into flames that threaten the destruction of the 
very nations which started the fire, as a war measure. 

Bolshevism and the Industrial Workers of the World 

We must not conclude that the spirit of Bolshevism 
is altogether a product of the Old World, nor wholly a 
reactionary outgrowth from an autocratic past. In one 
form or another this doctrine is being preached in all 
the world, and its red flag is being unfurled to repre- 
sent the common motives of many forms and shades of 
radical socialist propaganda. 

Nor should we imagine that the Bolshevist mov.e- 
ment is simply a weapon of war used at an opportune 
moment by the Imperial German Government to ac- 
complish the demoralization of Russia. The Bolshevist 
germ of lawlessness is always with us, working in all 
lands in times of peace as well as in times of war. 




<& iviedeni Photo Service 



Infantry Boardinfr a Transport 




© Western Newspaper Union 

American Boys Returning Home by the " Lapland ' 

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© Western Newspaper Union 

Down the Gang Plank in New York 




© Western Newspaper Union 

Colored Band and Infantry Landing from the " Celtic " 



27 




© U. & U., N. Y. 



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Turning in Equipment 




© Western Nc\vs.paijcr Union 

Crossing the Ferry, New York Harbor 




©U. & U-, N. Y, 



Mustered Out 



29 



30 World Peace 

The United States, with its free institutions and 
prosperous people, is not a fruitful soil for the growth 
of such revolutionary ideas; but even here, in the large 
cities and in mining districts, this spirit of lawlessness 
has taken concrete form in the organization of revolu- 
tionary societies. The activities of the I. W. W., the 
most radical and aggressive form of lawlessness in this 
country, are almost identical with those of the Bolshe- 
vist movement in Russia. 

The BolshevikI and the I. W. W. in the United States 

The character of the propaganda of the I. W. W. 
and the BolshevikI is indicated in the following quota- 
tion from an editorial in the World's Work, October, 
1918, page 582: 

" Certain sentiments of the I. W. W. seem to strike root in 
Prussian morals. The I. W. W. leaders have declared that, ' if 
it makes an agreement, it does so solely to repudiate it at will.' 
Compare this with the familiar statement of Frederick the Great 
that ' — a ruler ... is obliged to sacrifice treaty engagements, 
the continuance of which would be harmful to his country; for 
... if a sovereign remember he is a Christian, he is lost.' " 

The avowed purposes of the I. W. W. and the Bol- 
shevikI are nearly if not wholly identical, nor are their 
methods greatly different, under similar conditions. 
Both of them demand the overthrow of all government 
as now constituted, and the control of all industry by 
the class directly engaged in it. Of necessity, in many 
cases, if not invariably, this class consists solely of la- 
borers skilled only in their particular line of handicraft, 
and of anarchists wholly unskilled in the science of sta- 
ble civil government. 

What, then, is Bolshevism? Briefly it is civil gov- 
ernment run amuck. It is the ship of state in the hands 
of pirates, with violence on deck, ignorance at the helm, 
and the sails fillsd with every wind of human passion. 



The Bolshevist Germ 31 

Seeking an Ideal by Human Means 

In presenting these facts, we would not impugn the 
motives of the men who make up the rank and file of 
Socialists, nor even of other more radical kindred organ- 
izations. These men doubtless see the faults of their 
fellow creatures, and the failure of civil government 
to meet fully the needs of mankind. They see oppres- 
sion and greed trampling upon the rights of the weak.; 
the rich growing richer, and the poor growing poorer; 
and governments too often being run in the interests 
of the money power, with few to stand for the cause of 
the needy. 

There is doubtless in the hearts of many of these 
would-be reformers a sincere desire to better the living 
conditions of humanity. And it must be admitted, also, 
that the efforts of these liberal movements may in some 
cases improve living conditions temporarily. But with 
human nature unchanged, with selfishness still in the 
human heart, there can be no permanent betterment. 
Indeed, the reformer of today may become the tyrant 
and oppressor of tomorrow, whose rule must be broken 
by another revolution. In short, man cannot save him- 
self from even the temporal conditions incident to the 
presence of sin, — sin in the individual human heart 
as well as in the world. 

In the last analysis, therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ 
is the only hope of the race. A form of government 
may be improved, but human nature without Christ re- 
mains the same. Wherever men go, whatever human 
philosophies they may teach, whatever form of govern- 
ment they may establish, the crushing evils and suffer- 
ings of an unsaved race are much the same. Some glad 
day the good for which men long in this life, will come ; 
the King of kings will begin His everlasting reign; and 
the hearts of men will be satisfied. But until that day 
comes, the highest ideals of men will not be reached. 



32 World Peace 

An Uprising Against Civil Government 

The Bolshevist movement is rapidly growing into a 
world-wide uprising against civil government, as that 
term is generally understood. " The overthrow of all 
constitutional government " is the first item on the 
program, followed by the confiscation of all business and 
property, and the ruin, if not the utter extermination, 
of the educated, the wealthy, and the middle classes. 

The remnants of the people left by the revolution 
are then to be organized into small groups, each group 
to have supreme power of self-government. 

Thus it is practically proposed to reduce the blessing 
of liberty and self-government to license without law, 
to overthrow the world's commerce and society, and to 
turn men back to primitive barbarism. 

Indeed, the Bolshevist idea has about the same con- 
ception of society and government as that held many 
centuries ago by the barbarian Teutons and Saxons, who 
organized themselves into small companies, each building 
a stockade and establishing a " tun," — an idea from 
which the modern English town developed. But that 
is going a long w^ay back for an ideal on which to base 
a reorganization of modern business and social life. 

In all revolutionary movements in which men seek 
greater freedom of government there is danger of taking 
extreme positions which, if carried out, would bring 
far worse conditions than those it is sought to remedy. 

Even the church of Christ is not free from this dan- 
ger. When men enter into the blessed liberty of the 
gospel, there is danger that a spirit of lawlessness will 
be mistaken for the true liberty offered to the followers 
of Christ. It was doubtless because of the dangers from 
this natural tendency that Jesus and His apostles were 
led to include in their teaching some very definite in- 
struction and admonitions with respect to the relation 
of the church to civil government. 



The Bolshevist Gei^m SS 

The Teachings of Christ Concerning Civil Authority 

Even when the Jews were oppressed by a cruel and 
hated invader, Jesus taught loyalty to the existing gov- 
ernment, as is illustrated by the following incident: 

" Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might 
entangle Him in His talk. And they sent out unto Him their dis- 
ciples with the Herodians, saying. Master, we know that Thou art 
true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest Thou 
for any man: for Thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us 
therefore. What thinkest Thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto 
Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said. 
Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites? Show Me the tribute money. 
And they brought unto Him a penny. And He saith unto them, 
Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto Him,' 
Caesar's. Then saith He unto them. Render therefore unto Caesar 
the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are 
God's. When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left 
Him, and went their way." Matt. 22: 15-22, 

The Testimony of the Apostle Paul 

In his letter to the Romans, referring to the attitude 
of the Christian toward civil authority, the apostle Paul 
gave this instruction : 

" Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there 
is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance 
of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damna- 
tion. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. 
Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and 
thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is the minister of God 
to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for 
he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, 
a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Where- 
fore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for 
conscience' sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they 
are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; 
custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom 
honor." Rom. 13: 1-7. 

Lawlessness a Sign of the Last Days 

Not only do the Scriptures admonish believers to 
obey civil governments, but they also point to this spirit 
3 



34 World Peace 

of lawlessness which we now see blazing" up in all na- 
tions of the earth, as a sign of the last days. 

Nineteen centuries ago the apostle Paul wrote, " In 
the last days perilous times shall come." 2 Tim. 3: 1. 
And Peter also testified, " There shall come in the last 
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts." 2 Peter 
3 : 3. Jesus, also, in His great prophecy recorded in the 
twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, said : " As the days 
of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man 
be." Verse 37. In the book of Genesis we find a de- 
scription of social conditions at that time, to which the 
present times are compared. The record says: 

" God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, 
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only 
evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man 
on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said, 
I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the 
earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls 
of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them." " The 
earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with 
violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was 
corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." 
Gen. 6: 5-7, 11, 12. 

Because of this corruption, the Lord destroyed the 
earth by a flood ; and finally, because of the wickedness 
of men in the last days, God will destroy the earth a 
second time, by fire, cleansing it from all impurity and 
establishing a new heaven and a new earth. 2 Peter 
3:5-7, 11-13. 

Continuing His description of the last days, the Sa- 
viour said : 

" There shall be . . . upon the earth distress of nations, with 
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing 
them for fear, and for looking after those things which are com- 
ing on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." 
Luke 21: 25, 26. 

This is an exact picture of the conditions as they 
exist in the world today. Through greed of gain, trou- 



The Bolshevist Germ 



35 



ble between capital and labor, licentiousness, Increasing 
violence, lawlessness, revolution, and international com- 
plications, the nations are perplexed and men's hearts are 
failing them for fear as they look into the future. But 
to His people the Lord gives these assurances: 

" When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and 
lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 
21: 28. 

" Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet 
tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 
so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is 
near, even at the doors." Matt. 24: 32, 33. 

In the record by Luke he says, 

" So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know 
ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." Luke 21: 31. 

We need make no extended comment on what Christ 
and His apostles meant by these prophecies. Looking 
down the stream of time, they saw conditions as they 
would exist in the world just before the second advent, 
and in these stirring words gave a forecast of coming 
events so that no one might be in darkness, and that day 
come upon him as a thief. 




(c; Committee on Public Information. From U. & LJ., N. Y. 

Bolshevik Prisoners, Captured by American Troops Near Archangel 




© u. & u.. N. y. 

HALL OF MIRRORS IN THE HISTORIC PALACE OF VERSAILLES 
Where the World Peace Treaty of 1919 WUI Doubtless be Signed 




Photo. U. & v., N. Y. 



Tlie Peace Palace at The Hague 



A LEAGUE OF NATIONS 



Because of the great problems confronting the world, 
there is " distress of nations, with perplexity." On the 
one hand Bolshevism lifts its hideous head, seeking- to 
poison the very springs of national life; while on the 
other hand stalks the fierce specter of international war. 
For these evils and their terrible consequences men 
everywhere are feverishly seeking a remedy, yea, more, 
a secure refuge. Many believe this can be found only 
in a league of nations to conserve civilization by per- 
manently abolishing and forever preventing war. 

A world without war ! The nations of earth working 
together in a spirit of mutual helpfulness for the world's 
civilization and advancement ! It is a state desired by 
the great majority of earth's inhabitants. From every 
quarter of this war-scarred world there echoes the cry, 
" Give us permanent peace ! " Is this condition of af- 
fairs possible of realization? 

37 




(c) U. & U., N. V 



38 



PRESIDENT WILSON 
THE EMBODIMENT OF AMERICAN IDEALISM 




© Harris & Ewing 

Secretary Lansing 



© Henry H. Pierce, Boston, Mass. 
From Clinedinst 

Colonel House 




© Clinedinst, Wash., D. C. 
Henry White 
AMERICAN MEMBERS OF THE PEACE COMMISSION 



© Clinedinst, Wash., D. C. 
General Bliss 



39 



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42 World Peace 

More than a Utopian Dream 

To many who have given to the question serious 
thought this coveted condition of permanent peace ap- 
pears more than a Utopian dream ; they believe it to be 
possible of realization. 

The sentiment against war has already taken defi- 
nite form. It is not confined alone to the agitation of 
a few peace enthusiasts, but is engaging the serious at- 
tention of leading statesmen the world over. It is one 
of the leading questions before the Peace Council at 
Versailles. The national representatives assembled there 
have already adopted the principle, and are endeavor- 
ing to work out a program for its practical application. 

One of the most influential factors of the peace move- 
ment is the league which has been headed for several 
years by ex-President William Howard Taft. Its plat- 
form of principles is fairly representative of the purposes 
and objects for which all peace propagandists have been 
working. This declaration of principles reads as fol- 
lows: 

" We believe it to be desirable for the United States to join a 
league of nations binding the signatories to the following: 

"First, All justiciable questions arising between the signatory- 
powers, not settled by negotiations, shall, subject to the limita- 
tions of treaties, be submitted to a judicial tribunal for hearing 
and judgment, both upon the merits and upon any issue as to its 
jurisdiction of the question. 

" Second, All other questions arising between the signatories 
and not settled by negotiation, shall be submitted to a council of 
conciliation for hearing, consideration, and recommendation. 

" Third, The signatory powers shall jointly use forthwith both 
their economic and military forces against any one of their num- 
ber that goes to war, or commits acts of hostility, against another 
of the signatories before any question arising shall be submitted 
as provided in the foregoing. 

" Fourth, Conferences between the signatory powers shall be 
held from time to time to formulate and codify rules of interna- 
tional law, which, unless some signatory shall signify its dissent 
within a stated period, shall thereafter govern in the decisions of 
the judicial tribunal mentioned in Article I," 



A League of Nations 43 

The principles embodied in this statement have not 
only been officially recognized by the governments of 
the United States and Great Britain, but, as above 
stated, by the Peace Council itself. The idea is no 
longer regarded, therefore, as visionary, but as prac- 
tical, and in line with the high purposes and ideals 
which should possess an enlightened civilization. 

The Objects Sought 

What are the special objects sought by the League 
of Nations? Let President Wilson, in his speech at 
the tomb of Washington on July 4, 1918, answer: 

" The establishment of an organization of peace which shall 
make it certain that the combined power of free nations will check 
every invasion of rights, and serve to make peace and justice the 
more secure by affording a definite tribunal of opinion to which 
all must submit and by which every international readjustment 
that cannot be amicably agreed upon by the peoples directly con- 
cerned, shall be sanctioned." 

In this statement President Wilson expresses not 

alone the American idea of what should be embraced in 

the league, but the sentiments of the Allied nations as 

well. Mr. Lloyd George, premier of Great Britain, 

speaking to the army of the United States in France, 

July 5, 1918, said: 

" President Wilson yesterday made it clear what we are fight- 
ing for. If the kaiser and his admirers will accept the conditions 
voiced by the President, they can have peace with America, peace 
with France, and peace with Great Britain tomorrow." 

Practical Application of Peace Principles 

President Wilson, in his address in the Metropolitan 
Grand Opera House in New York City, Sept. 27, 1918, 
entered more fully into detail as to the practical appli- 
cation of the principles announced by him on previous 
occasions. 

" First, The impartial justice meted out must involve no dis- 
crimination between those to whom we wish to be just and those 
to whom we do not wish to be just. It must be a justice that 



44 World Peace 

plays no favorites and knows no standard but the equal rights of 
the several peoples concerned. 

" Second. No special or separate interest of any single nation or 
any group of nations can be made the basis of any part of the 
settlement which is not consistent with the common interest of all. 

•' Third, There can be no leagues or alliances or special cove- 
nants and understandings within the general and common family 
of the League of Nations. 

''Fourth. And more specifically, there can be no special, selfish 
economic combinations within the league and no employment of 
any form of economic boycott or exclusion, except as the power of 
economic penalty by exclusion from the markets of the world may 
be vested in the League of Nations itself as a means of discipline 
and control. 

"Fifth. All international agreements and treaties of every kind 
must be made known in their entirety to the rest of the world." — 
Current History, Xovembcr, 1918. p. ~5S. 

A World-Wide Membership Necessary 

The proposed league, if it fully attains its purpose, 
must secure, as stated by Sir Oliver Lodge, a concert 
of objective by all the nations of earth, otherwise in 
the very nature of the case friction would develop. The 
same situations would be created as have developed be- 
tween the ententes and the alliances of the past. Eco- 
nomic and commercial rivalries would be inevitable, and 
the result would be a struggle between opposing com- 
binations. 

Enforcing International Agreements 

The advocates of the League of Nations for the pres- 
ervation of world peace recognize that they have to do 
with poor fallible human nature. And they fear agi'ee- 
ments or covenants dependent alone on a sense of jus- 
tice will not hold the nations in check. Heretofore in- 
ternational law has had little force because the only 
power to compel obedience is a more or less lively sense 
of national honor. 

Those now arguing for a league of the nations rec- 
ognize that oftentimes racial animosity or ambition 
triumphs over national honor ; and that unprincipled rul- 



A League of Nations 45 

ers will violate the most solemn covenants in order to 
gain some real or fancied advantage. It is therefore 
proposed that the international court or tribunal to 
which national differences shall be referred, shall pos- 
sess adequate authority for the enforcement of its de- 
cisions upon recalcitrant members of the league. It is 
hoped that in this way military establishments may be 
reduced and naval programs limited. 

The penalties to be imposed may embrace economic 
restrictions, boycott, reprisals, expulsions, the abolition 
or restriction of international commerce, etc. Ulti- 
mately, if necessary, however, armed force will be em- 
ployed, either by an international police force or by the 
national armies acting in concert. 

A Reasonable Proposition 

The proposed league of peace among the nations 
seems, from every human viewpoint, a reasonable prop- 
osition. It would rest upon the same foundation as do 
treaties between nations, national financial systems, na- 
tional bonds, etc., namely, upon the good faith and na- 
tional honor of the contracting parties. Why should 
not the plighted faith of a nation for the maintenance 
of peace be as good as its promise to pay gold for 
money loaned, or for ships, guns, or goods furnished? 
We believe the idea is highly commendable from the 
standpoint of statesmanship and national honor. Cer- 
tainly no more worthy ideal could be held before the 
civilized nations of the present day. 

Will a League of Nations be Consummated? 

Will the nations of earth succeed in establishing and 
maintaining an alliance of honor for the maintenance 
of peace? It is to be hoped that they will. As we have 
said, the principle has a guaranty of support from some 
of the greatest nations of earth. It has the sympathy 
of many leading men in all nations. 




©Western Newspaper Union 



The " Georg:e Washingrton " Leaving New York Harbor with American Delegates 
Aboard for the Peace Conference 
46 




© Western Newspaper Union 



The Welcome at Brest 




© Committee on Public Information. From U. & U., N. Y. 

Presidents of the World's Two Greatest Republics 



'47 




© U. & U., N. Y. 



A Nation's Greeting 




© U. & U., N. Y. 

Guest Chamber in the Mansion of Prince Murat in Paris 

4 49 



50 World Peace 

The world is war-weary and tired of strife. There 
is a universal desire for peace. This is the natural re- 
action from the stress and strain, the labors and sac- 
rifices, the suffering and woe and death, resulting from 
more than four years of devastating war. The major- 
ity of mankind stand ready to enter into any arrange- 
ment which gives promise of future peace and security. 
The only ones to whom peace might be unwelcome would 
be those who would gain by warfare through continu- 
ance of position or through financial gain. 

And if the practical activities and operations of the 
league shall be confined alone to the great political field, 
and dealt only with international questions of civil pol- 
ity, it would give promise of great good. The great 
danger for the future will be that religio-political re- 
formers will seek to use this international machine, this 
beneficent league, as they have sought to use the machin- 
ery of individual states, for the accomplishment of their 
own ends. This we candidly admit is one grave danger 
which rests as a cloud upon what otherwise would be 
a comparatively clear horizon in the development of this 
new proposition. 

Man's Relation to Moral and to Civil Government 

The Master when on earth made a clear distinction 
between those duties which should be rendered to God, 
and those which should be rendered to Caesar, or civil 
government. (See Matt. 22:16-22.) Over and over 
again there is taught in the Scriptures of Truth the doc- 
trine that the state has no right to invade the realm of 
man's moral and personal relationship to his God; that 
the law of the heavenly kingdom governs in a holier, 
higher realm than that of the civil state. On the other 
hand, there has existed in every age of the Christian 
church men who have sought to confound these relation- 
ships. They have argued that the moral responsibility 



A League of Nations 51 

attaching to the individual attaches also to the nation. 
Christ, they have urged, should be recognized as the 
true head of the nation, while the visible human head 
acts as His agent to enforce the laws of the divine 
government. 

The practical workings of this pernicious theory 
were seen in Constantino's manipulation of the church 
in the interests of the empire, and later in the church's 
manipulation of the state in the interests of the church. 
Viewed from any possible standpoint, there is evil and 
only evil continually in a union of church and state, and 
for this reason the theory of such union was long since 
repudiated by the large majority of Protestants. It is 
therefore the more regrettable to see some professing 
this name today advocating the principles which brought 
ruin to the church in the fourth century, and which re- 
sulted later in the development of the terrible system 
which so long proved the curse of Christendom. We 
refer to the propaganda now at work having for its 
aim the enthronement of Christ as national and inter- 
national political ruler, and the recognition of His laws 
as the foundation of civil governmient. 

This idea of making Christ king is the grand ob- 
jective of the propaganda carried on by the National 
Reform Association. Other organizations, such as the 
World Alliance of the Churches for the Promotion of 
International Friendship, the Commission on Christian 
Education of the Federal Council of Churches, the Church 
Peace Union, etc., are committed to the same propa- 
ganda. They stand as representatives of a number 
of associations and alliances which have as their ob- 
jective the promotion of this idea — the enthronement 
of Christ as this world's king, and the adoption of His 
law as the basis of national and international jurispru- 
dence. 



52 World Peace 

Christ's Kingdom Not of This World 

This propaganda to make Christ king of this world 

is entirely opposed to the whole spirit and scheme of 

the gospel. Christ's kingdom is not of this world. This 

the Master Himself plainly declared. Answering the 

question of Pilate if He was a king, Christ said: 

" My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of 
this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be de- 
livered to the Jews: but now is My kingdom not from hence." 
John 18: 36. 

During the history of this present world, Christ's 
church is commissioned to gather out from all nations 
those who will accept Him as their Saviour and receive 
the gospel message which will transform their lives. 
Acts 15 : 14. Entrance into His kingdom is made con- 
ditional upon this transformation, or conversion. Matt. 
18: 1-3. 

Christ is to establish His kingdom in connection with 
the judgment of the last great day. 2 Tim. 4: 1. Then 
He will come with His holy angels and in the glory of 
the Father. Matt. 25 : 31. 

At that time the righteous inhabitants of His king- 
dom will be assembled. The sleeping saints, from right- 
eous Abel to the last child of God who has fallen in 
death, will be raised from the dead. The living right- 
eous will be changed from mortality to immortality. 
These will constitute the inhabitants and subjects of 
the kingdom of God. 1 Thess. 4 : 16-18 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 51-55. 

That the kingdom of Christ will not be established 
through absorption of earthly kingdoms, but after their 
sudden and violent overthrow, is proved by many scrip- 
tural statements. The Father's promise to the Son 
through the psalmist is: 

" Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine 
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy posses- 
sion. Thou Shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash 
them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Ps. 2: 8, 9. 



A League of Nations 53 

The wicked who are on the earth when Christ comes 
will be gathered and consigned to the burning flame, 
even as the tares are gathered from among the wheat 
and consumed. Matt. 13 : 40-42. 

And when this work of purification is complete, then 
" shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the king- 
dom of their Father," and the meek shall " inherit the 
earth." Matt. 13:43; 5:5. 

A Step Backward 

When we learn from such plain statements of the 
Bible the nature of Christ's kingdom and the time when 
it will be established, and the character of the men and 
women who are to be its subjects, we are forced to re- 
gard the cry now coming up from many quarters for 
the enthronement of Christ as king, as a false call to 
the church of God. This demand for the political en- 
thronement of Christ constitutes a step backward and 
not forward. In mistaken zeal men are seeking to force 
Christ into the position which he declined to occupy 
when on earth. But He can . never be made to enter 
the realm of law through the gateway of politics. 

This cry for so-called " international righteousness " 
is one of the elements which have been injected into the 
discussion of the formation of a league of peace which 
threatens to mar the efforts of the high-minded states- 
men who are working for the realization of their high 
ideal, — a war-free world. 

A Clear Distinction 

We wish to make a clear distinction between these 
two classes of peace propagandists. We are in hearty 
sympathy and accord with every effort for the enforce- 
ment of peace which confines itself to the realm of civil 
procedure. We believe that the maintenance of peace 
on this basis is wholly justifiable. We view, however, 
with grave concern the efforts of these religio-political 



54 Woiid Peace 

reformers who seek the enforcement of peace upon reli- 
gious grounds. Their scheme to inject into the ques- 
tion of peace the recognition of God in international 
law, and to make His law the basis of international juris- 
prudence, can result only in evil both to the church and 
to the state, as such efforts have resulted in the past. 
We believe the scheme to be both un-American and 
un-Christian ; and in saying this we do not impute evil 
intent or motive to the earnest men and women who are 
engaged in this religio-political propaganda. Many of 
them stand high, and are recognized as leaders of reli- 
gious thought. Some of them are our friends and neigh- 
bors. They are working for what they conceive to be 
worthy objects. 

Will a League of Nations be a Success? 

We believe that this movement will be measurably 
successful. The world is war-weary, and anxious for 
peace upon any reasonable terms. The demand for an 
enduring peace has become so great that prominent 
statesmen are pledged to this program. The proposi- 
tion also has behind it the assurance of prophetic pre- 
diction. Long years ago the seer of God, looking down 
through the ages, saw the very conditions which exist 
in the world at the present time, and foretold the uni- 
versal cry which would be coming up from the nations 
of men for peace. And he foretold also that this de- 
mand for peace would, sometime in its history, carry 
with it the demand for so-called international righteous- 
ness, for the recognition of Christ as king and the 
revealed will of God as the basis of international law. 
Read this striking prophecy, recorded in the second 
chapter of Isaiah: 

" It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of 
the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, 
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow 
unto it- And many people shall go and say. Come ye, and let us 



A League of Nations 55 

go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of 
Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His 
paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the 
Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, 
and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords 
into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall 
not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of 
the Lord." Isa. 2: 2-5. 

This cry for peace does not come from isolated in- 
dividuals, but from the nations of earth themselves. 
Surely, in the demand arising from practically every na- 
tion in the world today we see important steps in the 
fulfilment of this prophecy. 

Will the Peace Pact Endure? 

In considering this phase of the question, we turn 
to the dark side of the picture. What assurance have 
we that national alliances for the future will prove 
stronger than those of the past? The last four years 
have witnessed the violation of the many national com- 
pacts. Treaties have been disregarded, and the most 
solemn covenants of the rulers of men have been set 
aside in order to serve the ever-changing purpose of 
national necessity. Human nature is the same today as 
it has been through all the centuries. War has its origin 
in the sinful human heart, and just as long as human 
nature remains unchanged, strife is bound to exist; and 
racial jealousy and animosity, rife in the natural heart, 
will find expression in appeals to force and violence, 
as one writer has well said : 

" The world will never reach lasting peace, save through the 
Prince of Peace. There is no assurance in divine revelation or in 
human annals that man, alone and unaided, will ever solve the 
stupendous problem of saving humanity from the violence of its 
own passions. The social seer may have his dreams of human 
brotherhood, and the poet may sing of the furled battle flags, — 
we believe with them that these things are yet to be,- — but the 
realization of such hopes will appear only with that absolute mon- 



56 World Peace 

archy wherein He whose right it is shall reign in reality upon this 
earth." 

The Close of Earth's History Marked by Bloody Warfare 

A strange and anomalous situation confronts us. 
While there is going up a world-wide cry for enduring 
peace, and while many statesmen, yielding to this pop- 
ular demand, give their best energies for the realization 
of this hope, provision is still being made in every leg- 
islative assembly for increased armaments for future 
war. And the belief is openly expressed that the wars 
of the future will far exceed in terribleness and de- 
.structiveness the wars of even the recent past. 

This belief that the future will witness further war- 
fare is fully warranted by the prophetic forecast of the 
closing days of earth's history. To the prophet Joel 
was given a vision of the days in which we live. He 
declares that earth's scenes will close in bloody war. 
Read this striking prophecy as recorded in Joel 3 : 9-12 : 

" Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up 
the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come 
up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into 
spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and 
come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: 
thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the 
heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: 
for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about." 

Two Great Sign Prophecies 

The reader will note the striking contrast between 
the statements recorded in the second chapter of Isaiah 
and the prophecy we have just quoted from the book 
of Joel. The former prophet declares that in the last 
days many people would say: Let us have a time of 
peace and quietness, and let us beat the implements of 
war into the implements of agriculture. Note that this 
is said by the nations of men, and not by God Himself. 
Through His prophet Joel the Lord reveals the actual 
condition which is to exist. Notwithstanding this cry 



A League of Nations 



51 



of the nations for peace, He declares that the imple- 
ments of agriculture shall be beaten into implements of 
warfare. Similarly, John the Revelator describes the 
closing scenes of earth's history. He declares that evil 
spirits, working through national greed, avarice, and 
animosity, will go forth to all the nations of the earth 
to gather them together to the battle of the great day 
of God Almighty. Rev. 16 : 14. 

We are living in the day when both of these prophe- 
cies are meeting a striking fulfilment. They stand as 
notable signs of the day of God. 

Christ the Hope of His People 

The fondest hopes of men will be shattered. " The 
ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly." Isa. 33: 7. 
The great day of the Lord, a day of destruction and 
waste and desolation, is at hand. The mighty Arbiter 
comes forth from His place to punish the inhabitants of 
the world, and to cleanse the earth and fit it to be the 
abode of His everlasting peace. In that day Christ will 
prove " the hope of His people, and the strength of the 
children of Israel." Joel 3: 16. He will save those who 
have found refuge under the covering of His right- 
eousness. 



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THE GREAT IMAGE OF DANIEL TWO 
A Prophetic Outline of World Empires 




-^unial i:!ti;rpreting- Nebuchadnezzar's Dreani 



THE NATIONS FULFILLING PROPHECY 



The path which leads to " world power or downfall " 
has been followed by many a nation, and in the majority 
of cases has led to downfall rather than to power. 

Since history began, various nations have felt them- 
selves called upon — some out of sheer ambition to rule, 
and others because of a belief that Heaven appointed 
them to lead and reform the world — to extend their 
authority over all other nations and establish a world 
empire. 

Struggles for World Empire 

Perhaps the first attempt of this kind was that of 
Assyria, and it was persisted in until that nation per- 
ished in the smoke and flame of its wicked capital, 
Nineveh. Babylon took it up, and, under Nebuchad- 
nezzar, brought the world as it was known at that time, 
under her dominion. Persia followed, overthrowing and 
seizing the power of Babylon, and maintained it until 
the arrogant hopes of that empire were swallowed up 

59 




© U. & U., N. Y. 

The Former Kaiser of Germany 
Abdicated Nov. 9, 1918 



© u. & u., N. y. 

Th*" Former Czar ot Russia 
Abdicated March 14. 1917 




Photo V. & v.. N. Y. 

The Former Emperor of Austria 
Abdicated Nov. 12, 19iS 



Photo TT. & IT., N. Y 

The Former King of Greece 
Abdicated June 12. X918 



60 



THE CRASH OF AUTOCRACY 




©U. & U., N. Y. 

Residence at Spa, Iielg:iuni. Where the Kaiser Signed His Abdication 




© Inter. News Se: 



Great Retreat of the German Annies 



61 




Photo, U. & U.. N. Y. 

King George of England 



© U. & U., N. Y. 

King Albert of Belgium 




Photo, U. & U.. N. Y. Photo, U. & U., N. Y. 

King Victor Emmanuel of Italy King Peter of Serbia 

PEMOCRATIC KINGS BELOVED BY THEIR PEOPLE 



G3 



GC&MAMY 







GERMANY 



Vienna 
A U S T R I A /■ 






HUNGARY 



/SERBO-/ 
•CRQAIIA\ 



From New York Times Current History 

Map of the New Czecho-Slovak Republic (tentative) 




© Committee on Public Information. From W. Newspaper Union 
The New Polish Army 



65 



66 World Peace 

with its ships at Salamis. Then Greece came into power, 
and was shortly followed by Rome, which achieved a 
greater success in world dominion, and held it for a 
longer time, than any other. 

Through the centuries since the downfall of Rome, 
many have tried to unite the broken pieces of the once 
great empire. To win all the earth for the one God 
whose prophet they claimed was Mohammed, the Arabs 
went forth in the early years of the Middle Ages. 
Charles Martel's Franks stopped them with an iron wall 
of lances at Tours. Charlemagne aspired to weld again 
into one great empire the divided dominions of old Rome, 
but without success. Then the Spaniards, under Philip 
II, conceived the same great ambition, but their hope 
was blasted by William the Silent, Queen Elizabeth, and 
Henry of Navarre. On two separate occasions France 
has been gripped by this insatiate hunger for unlimited 
power, the defeat of both of which required alliance of 
practically all Europe. It took at least four great wars 
and all of Europe to prevent Louis XIV from ruling 
the world; and it required an even greater effort to 
keep Napoleon from founding an empire vaster than 
that of the Caesars. 

The Wreckage of World Ambitions 

We have just witnessed the utter failure of the most 
recent attempt to obtain the mastery of the world. 
Vexed by this malignant demon of world power, Ger- 
many, in 1914, started upon a course which has brought 
misery and want and woe to tens of millions of human 
beings. But Germany's ambitious design of bringing 
the world under its dominion has now been utterly over- 
thrown, as those who study the ancient prophecies of 
the Bible knew it would be. 

Today Babylon, its palaces of pleasure once tenanted 
with beauty, lies in eternal silence under the shifting 



The Natiofis Fulfilling Prophecy 67 

sands of the desert; Tyre and Sidon, once the market 
places of the world, but now in ruins, are places for 
the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; Old 
Egypt, its ancient glories now but sculptured memories, 
is in strangers' hands ; the vacant shrines of Greece have 
moldered into dust; and Rome, that far-flung empire 
of old, smothered under its own luxury and licentious- 
ness, fell an easy prey to the hardy barbarians of the 
North. 

Thus for thousands of years have nations arisen, 
lived out their little day of triumph and glory, and gone 
into silence. Their names have become synonyms for 
lust, cruelty, and idolatry, as well as for pride and 
power. Their ancient opulence is but a dream; their 
proudest monuments of imperial greatness are vast 
ruins, desolate palaces, and broken sculptures; their 
grandeur has departed. The laws which they imposed 
on the world are buried in the dust of ages, with none 
to yield them obedience. Their cities, with all their 
pageantry and glory, have crumbled to dust, and all 
that made up their power has been swallowed by the 
cavernous years. 

How long is this world-old rise and fall of nations 
to continue? How long will generations of men con- 
tinue to be born, linger awhile, and die? How long is 
this strange and curious game of birth and death to 
go on? Is an ultimate nation, founded on justice, un- 
conquerable, eternal in its duration, ever to rule the 
earth ? 

World History Outlined in Bible Prophecy 

An answer to these questions is given in the Book of 
God, and the coming of that ultimate nation founded on 
righteousness, which is to rule over all the earth, is 
clearly set forth in the Scriptures of Truth. In the 
days of the world's first universal empire, the God of 



68 World Peace 

heaven caused to pass before the mind of its king, the 
mighty Nebuchadnezzar, in the form of a dream, a de- 
scription covering the entire course of this world's his- 
tory from that time to the very end of the world. 
Twenty-five hundred years of history were unfolded in 
one night, as recorded in the prophecy contained in the 
second chapter of Daniel. 

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream 

Daniel, the young Hebrew prophet who explained to 
the king the meaning of this dream, described its de- 
tails as follows: 

" Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great 
image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the 
form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his 
breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 
his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay." Verses 
31-33. 

After seeing this image the king continued to study 
it until he beheld its destruction: 

" A stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image 
upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, 
broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the sum- 
mer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no 
place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image 
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." Verses 
34, 35. 

Babylon 

Having thus described the appearance of the image 
and its destruction, Daniel gave to the king the inter- 
pretation of it, which he received from heaven. He 
said: 

" Thou art this head of gold." Verse 38. 

Thus it is plain that Babylon, that great kingdom 
which ruled over the then-known world, is in this image 
represented by the head of gold. Babylon, however, was 
not, as Nebuchadnezzar fondly hoped, to remain forever. 
It was to be overthrown. 



The Nations Fulfilling Prophecy 69 

Medo-Persia 

" After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee." 
Verse 3 9. 

In fulfilment of this prediction, the Medes and Per- 
sians overthrew Babylon on the night of the great feast 
which Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, had made 
to a thousand of his lords. On that night, years after 
the dream of the image had been interpreted by Daniel, 
the prophet, now an old man, was again called on and 
requested to interpret the mysterious handwriting on 
the wall. A part of his interpretation was this: 

" Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Per- 
sians." Dan. 5: 28. 

Then the record continues : 

" In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three- 
score and two years old." Dan. 5: 30, 31. 

The breast and arms of silver of the great image 
were the symbol of the empire of Medo-Persia, which 
succeeded Babylon. 

Greece 

The course of history does not stop with Medo-Persia, 
for there was to arise — 

" another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all 
the earth." Verse 3 9. 

This third kingdom, which overthrew Medo-Persia, 
represented by the thighs of brass in the image, was 
Greece, under Alexander the Great. 

Rome 

" The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as 
iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that 
breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise." Verse 40. 

The great " iron monarchy of Rome," which suc- 
ceeded Greece in the empire of the world, is the power 
represented by " the legs of iron ; " and as iron that 



70 World Peace 

" subdueth all things," so Rome crushed the world and 
trampled it underfoot. She stole the liberties of the 
world. She despised God. She worshiped all gods save 
the true one. It was one of her governors, Pontius 
Pilate, who gave the sentence to crucify the Just One. 

Rome Divided into Ten Kingdoms 

But Rome, too, was to fall. 

" Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, 
and part of iron, the kingdom [Rome] shall be divided; but there 
shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest 
the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were 
part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly 
strong, and partly broken [weak]." Verses 41, 42. 

In the seventh chapter of Daniel is recorded a vision 
seen by the prophet covering the same four empires as 
the image. In this chapter they are represented by wild 
beasts, — Babylon by a lion, Medo-Persia by a bear, 
Greece by a leopard, and Rome by a great and terrible 
beast. On the head of this latter beast were ten horns, 
which are explained to represent ten kingdoms. 

In fulfilment of these prophecies. Western Rome was, 
between the years 351 and 476, divided into ten king- 
doms. And from that time until now this tenfold divi- 
sion has persistently dominated the history of the terri- 
tory of Western Rome. Changes, it is true, there have 
been, resulting from war and from the more or less 
temporary alliances, foretold in the prophecy of the 
image; but through all the changes of the centuries, 
this tenfold division has persisted, even to the present 
time. 

Not to be United Again 

And then the prophet sets forth the most remarkable 
part of his prediction : 

" Whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall 
mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave 
one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." Dan. 2: 43. 



The Nations Fulfilling Pro^^hecy 71 

From this passage it is plain that after the division 
of Western Rome into ten kingdoms, attempts were to 
be made to unite these kingdoms once more into one 
great empire. This was to be attempted not only by 
war but by intermarriage of the reigning houses. All 
through the centuries this has been a prominent feature 
of European history, and never more so than during 
the last fifty or sixty years. Some have relied, however, 
upon conquest. They have sought by means of war to 
reunite that of which God had said, " They shall not 
cleave one to another." The attainment of world power 
by conquest has been attempted, as we have seen, by 
such men as Charlemagne, Charles V, Phihp II, Louis 
XIV, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Wilhelm II. They have 
not succeeded, nor can any such attempt ever succeed. 
" They shall not cleave one to another," was the divine 
verdict, which cannot be annulled. Examine these seven 
words, examine them closely, for they have proved 
stronger than all alliances, stronger even than the le- 
gions of earth's mightiest rulers. 

The Next Universal Kingdom 

After thus directing our attention to the rise and 
overthrow of the great nations throughout the centuries. 
and bringing our minds down to the present hour, fixing 
our thought on the present nations of Europe, the in- 
spired writer declares: 

" In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a 
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall 
not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and con- 
sume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 

" Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the 
mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the 
brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made 
known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the 
dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." Verses 
44, 45. 



72 World Peace 

These verses contain the most important part of 
this entire line of prophecy. They point directly to the 
days of certain kings as the time when the God of 
heaven shall set up His eternal kingdom, the great ulti- 
mate nation which shall rule the world throughout eter- 
nity. This kingdom is to be introduced " in the days of 
these kings." What kings? Judging from the prophecy 
itself, we can have no doubt that the modern nations of 
Europe are meant. In the days of the modern nations 
of Europe the God of heaven is to establish His king- 
dom, — the kingdom of righteousness, the kingdom of 
Christ. 

The Sure Word of Prophecy 

There is no mistake here. Just as surely as Medo- 
Persia followed Babylon, as Greece followed Medo-Persia, 
as Rome succeeded Greece, and as the modern nations 
of Europe, situated within the confines of Western 
Rome, have followed the empire of Rome, just so surely 
are these present nations to be followed in the very near 
future by the kingdom of God, that great kingdom of 
peace which is to extend from one end of the earth to 
the other. The ancient nations have expired, having 
come into existence and been destroyed in the exact 
order outlined in 'this prophecy by the Spirit of Inspi- 
ration. The modern nations of Europe, which are within 
the boundaries of Western Rome, have succeeded them. 

Over the wreck of the ruined temples and sculptured 
images of the nations of the past there comes a voice, 
ringing down through more than twenty-five stormy 
centuries, and sounding throughout the length and 
breadth of the world, to every place where the Bible 
and its prophecies have gone, which makes certain that 
those who live today are living in the time when the 
present kingdoms of the world are to " become the king- 
doms of our Lord, and of His Christ." Rev. 11 : 15. 



The Nations Fulfilling Prophecy 73 

God's Kingdom to Prevail 

It should be noticed that this kingdom which is to 
take the place of all earthly kingdoms, is to be estab- 
lished, not by the conversion of the nations, but by their 
destruction. There is no teaching of world conversion 
here or anywhere else in the Bible. The kingdom of 
God is to be established on the ruins of the nations of 
the earth. The stone which struck the great image rep- 
resents God's kingdom, and this stone grinds the image 
to powder and utterly destroys it. In like manner will 
God, after pleading with all flesh, after sending His gos- 
pel of the coming kingdom into all the world as a wit- 
ness to every nation, sweep sinful humanity away in 
His fury, and utterly destroy sinners and all their works, 
leaving not one vestige remaining. 

Before this destruction comes, God's people will be 
gathered out of all nations. Every one who makes a 
covenant with the Lord by sacrifice, every soul who ac- 
cepts Christ as his Saviour, will become a subject of 
the eternal kingdom which is to be established in the 
earth. The subjects of this kingdom are now being 
gathered out by the preaching of the gospel of the 
kingdom. 

" The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hear- 
eth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever 
will, let him take the water of life freely." Rev. 22: 17. 

" He which testifieth these things saith. Surely I come 
quickly." And with united voice his waiting people 
respond, " Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Rev. 
22 : 20. 




©U. & U.. N. Y. 
74 



MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA, CONSTANTINOPLE 




\^U. & U., N. Y. 

Mosque of Omar, on the " Glorious Holy Mountain," Jerusalem 



THE EASTERN QUESTION AND 
ARMAGEDDON 

In placing before men His instruction, God gives us 
" line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there 
a little." Isa. 28: 10. 

In .the Scriptures are twelve distinct lines of proph- 
ecy, all pointing to the very age of the world in which 
we live as the culminating point of earth's history and 
the coming of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ. Two of these lines we have traced from 
more than six hundred years before Christ to our 
own day. To two others, which give the only satis- 
factory solution of the Eastern Question ever seriously 
attempted, the attention of the reader is now invited. 

The Eastern Question may be briefly defined as the 
problem of the complete dismemberment of the Ottoman 
Empire and the partitioning of its territory without 
giving some one power or group of powers an undue 
advantage in world trade and world diplomacy. 

75 



76 World Peace 

The extinction of the Turkish Empire, not only in 
Europe, but in Asia as well, is clearly foreshadowed in 
divine prophecy. The blotting out of such a power is 
of itself an event of sufficient importance to be of in- 
terest, not only to the more immediate neighbors of 
Turkey, but to the whole world. There are, however, 
two still greater events to follow it speedily, namely, 
the battle of Armageddon, and the second coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. These events are closely asso- 
ciated in the prophecy, and must necessarily be consid- 
ered together. 

The internal politics of Europe have largely revolved 
around the Eastern Question for more than a century. 
Indeed, the question of supremacy in Syria, Palestine, 
and in fact the whole region east of the Mediterranean, 
was an ancient problem also. 

Maspero, historian of ancient civilizations, says: 

" Some countries seem destined from their origin to become 
the battlefields of the contending nations. . . . The nations around 
are eager for the possession of a country thus situated. . . . From 
remote antiquity Syria was in the condition just described. By its 
position it formed a kind of meeting place, where most of the mili- 
tary nations of the ancient world were bound sooner or later to 
come violently into collision." — "Struggle of the Nations," 'chap. 1. 

It is not strange that one of the great outlines of 
historic prophecy should deal with events centering 
around this pivotal region. The prophecy of Daniel 11 
does so, outlining the course of history from ancient 
times to the final solution of the Eastern Question amid 
the scenes of the end. 

The Prophecy of Daniel 11 * 

It was in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia 
(Dan. 10: 1), that the angel revealed the order of events 
to the prophet. Let us put prophecy and history to- 
gether. To the prophet the angel said: 

" I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet 
three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they 



The Eastern Question and Armageddon 11 

all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all 
against the realm of Grecia." Dan. 11: 2. 

History tells us that the three kings following Cyrus 
were (1) Cambyses, (2) Smerdis, (3) Darius; and the 
fourth, Xerxes, was " far richer than they all." He had 
the treasures of his father, Darius, who was called the 
" merchant " or " hoarder " by his own people, and 
Xerxes gathered stores of wealth in addition ; and by his 
wealth he was able to " stir up all," an army of mil- 
lions, to invade Grecia. The Greek poet, ^schylus, who 
himself fought against the Persians, wrote of Xerxes' 
mighty host: 

" And myriad-peopled Asia's king, a battle-eager lord, 
From utmost east to utmost west, sped on his countless horde." 

— " Persw," 80. 

Xerxes failed; and the Persian invasion led the 
Greeks to determine to await their turn against Persia. 
The attack of Grecia upon Persia, led by Alexander the 
Great, being the next great world event, the prophecy 
passes to that power. The angel continued: 

" A mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great 
dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand 
up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the 
four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity." Dan. 11: 3, 4. 

The history of the fulfilment of the prophecy briefly 
stated is this: 

Alexander the Great stood up and ruled with great 
dominion, over a kingdom stretching from India to 
Grecia, with kings yet farther west sending embassies 
to Babylon to make submission. But in the height of 
his power, as the prophecy suggests, he was suddenly 
cut down by death. All his posterity perished, and out 
of the struggles of his generals for supi'emacy came 
(301 B. c.) the division of the empire toward " the four 
winds," as the prophecy had declared so long before. 
Rawlinson, the historian, says: 




The Turkish Empire at the Time of Its Greatest Territorial Extent (1648) 




The Turkish Empire Previous to the Italian-Turkish War (1911-12) and the 
Balkan-Turkish War (1912-13) 



HE SHALT. COME TO HIS EXD. 



78 




The Turkish Empire at the Be&inning of the World War (1914) 



\ ■♦ft^' \POLAND \ 

*^'\<\ c't^ -■',:'^"-'.'\ "^UKRAINE '■> 




HED JAZ 

ARABIA) 



The Turkish Empire after the Peace Conference (tentative) (1919) 



-AND NONE SHALL HELP HIM.*' Dan. 11:45. 

79 




© U. & U.. N. Y. 

Up the Dardanelles after the Signing of the Armistice 




Photo, Inter. Film Service, Inc., N. Y. 

British Troops Landing at Constantinople 
80 




The Ancient Battle Ground Called Armageddon 




©Press Illustrating Service, inc., Is. \. 

The Street cf Steps, Jerusalem 



81 



82 World Peace 

" A quadripartite division of Alexander's dominion was recognized, 
Macedonia [west], Egypt [soiithl, Asia Minor [north], and Syria 
[east, extending beyond the Euphrates]." — "Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3. 

Next, a rearrangement of these powers is noted ; and 
it is this that gives us the key to the study of the clos- 
ing portion of the long prophetic outline dealing with 
events of our own day. The prophetic narrative con- 
tinues : 

" The king of the south shall be strong, amd one of his princes 
. . . shall be strong above him; . . . his dominion shall be a 
great dominion." Verse 5. 

History testifies that the king of the south (Egypt) 
was strong under the Ptolemies, but one of the four 
princes w^as " strong above him." Seleucus, of Syria and 
the east, pushed his dominion northward, subduing most 
of Asia Minor and extending his boundary into Thrace, 
on the European side, just beyond the extent of Turkey 
in Europe today. With varying fortunes, this general 
arrangement of these powers continued. Henceforward, 
as Mahaffy says, 

"There were three great kingdoms — Macedonia, Egypt, Syria 
— which lasted, each under its own dynasty, till Rome swallowed 
them up." — "Alexander's Empire" J. P. Mahaffy, p. S9. 

Thus Seleucus took the territory of the north, and 
the Syrian power became king of the north, its empire 
stretching from Thrace, in Europe, through Asia Minor 
to Syria and the Euphrates. The seat of empire was 
after a time removed from the east, and Antioch, in 
northern Syria, became the famous capital, " once the 
third city of the world." 

The prophecy next foretold in remarkable detail the 
contests between these two strong powers, the king of 
the north and the king of the south. The conflict raged 
back and forth till the coming of the Romans. The Holy 
Land was the great meeting place of the contending ar- 
mies. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes it: 



The Eastern Question and Ai^Tnageddon 83 

" Palestine was as of old the battlefield for the king of the 
north and the king of the south. . . . The history of these times 
is lost in its details." — Yol. XY, art. "Macedonian Empire,"" 9th 
edition. 

Passing over these details and all the history inter- 
vening, we come at once to the closing portion of the 
prophecy, which deals with events of the latter days. 
Here we find the king of the north again a chief actor, 
" at the time of the end," in this same region ; and when 
that power comes to its end, as we shall read in a 
moment, it is the signal that the battle of Armageddon 
and the great day of God are at hand. 

The World's Crisis 

Well may we ask, therefore, What "poiver in these last 
days is the king of the north? Assuredly it must be the 
power that holds dominion in the regions of the ancient 
king of the north of the first part of the prophecy. The 
divine prophecy named the power by its geographical 
location. That is certain. When Seleucus, of Syria and 
the east, conquered Asia Minor and the north, he became 
king of the north. Through the prophetic story of two 
centuries this Syrian Empire, stretching from the re- 
gions about Constantinople to the Euphrates, is called 
the king of the north. Whatever power holds dominion 
over this region of Asia Minor and Syria, must be the 
king of the north in the language of all divine prophecy. 
And every reader knows that Turkey, or the Ottoman 
Empire, has occupied this very region for centuries. 
Turkey, then, is the king of the north. Of the later 
history and end of the king of the north, the prophecy 
says: 

" Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble 
him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and 
utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles 
of his palace [evidently the seat of government] between the seas 
in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and 



84 World Peace 

none shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the 
great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and 
there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was 
a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall 
be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." 
Dan. 11: 44, 45; 12: 1. 

Here is graphically described the later history of 
Turkey to this day. Disquietude has come through 
" tidings out of the east and out of the north," Piece 
by piece the eastern possessions in the Transcaucasus 
have been taken away, and province by province on the 
north the Turkish Empire has been whittled down. 

" None shall help him " at the last, the prophecy says 
of the king of the north. It suggests that formerly this 
power has had- help. For a century it was a doctrine of 
the diplomacy of Western Europe that Turkey must be 
maintained. Turkey has been helped in crises again and 
again, first by one power, then by another, and some- 
times by several at once. The great powers feared that 
the entire dismemberment of Turkey would involve the 
whole world in war. In one of his speeches, as premier 
of Great Britain, the late Lord Salisbury said: 

" Turkey is in that remarkable condition in which it has now 
stood for half a century, mainly because the great powers of the 
world have resolved that for the peace of Christendom it is neces- 
sary that the Ottoman Empire should stand." 

The veteran premier stated the fear of modern states- 
men that the fall of Turkey would mean calamity in- 
volving all Christendom. And the ancient prophecy 
declares that when the king of the north comes to his 
end, there will occur also " a time of trouble, such as 
never was since there was a nation." 

What modern statesmen have seen impending and 
sought to prevent, the ancient prophecy declares will 
surely come. 

" He shall come to his end, and none shall help him." Dan. 
11: 45. 



The Eastern Question and Armageddon 85 

A New Testament Prophecy 

This same time of trouble for the nations, foreshad- 
owed in the Great War of 1914-18, is dealt with in a 
New Testament prophecy; and the end of the Turkish 
power is stated to be the signal for the day of trouble, 
just as the end of the king of the north is the signal 
for it in this prophecy of Daniel 11. In the sixteenth 
chapter of Revelation, the prophet not only describes 
the drying up of the Euphrates, but he intimates that 
important developments are to follow it: 

" The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river 
Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of 
the kings of the East might be prepared." Rev. 16: 12. 

By the drying up of the power represented by the 
river Euphrates, the way is prepared for the next step 
— the gathering " of the whole world " to " the battle 
of that great day of God almighty " — the Armageddon 
of the nations. Verses 14-16. 

As the Nile stood for Egypt and the Tiber for Rome, 
so in all modern times the Euphrates has stood for Tur- 
key and the Moslem Empire, especially in Asia, the orig- 
inal home of the Ottoman power. 

Through the centuries since the Turkish invasion of 
Europe reached its crest, that power has been dwindling 
and shrinking, until now but little remains to it in 
Europe. Some day, according to this prophecy of Rev- 
elation, the original empire of the Turks, the country 
drained by the Euphrates and its tributaries, will be 
absorbed by other powers, the great river will be " dried 
up," just as the king of the north (of Daniel 11) will 
" come to his end ; " and then, according to both proph- 
ecies, Armageddon will come and the great day of God. 
Because of the love that God has for all peoples — for 
he is no respecter of persons or of nations — he gives 
to the world these signs of the approaching end of all 
earthly empires. 



86 World Peace 

Jerusalem a Storm-Center 

In the process of the closing history, as described in 
the last verse of Daniel 11, the prophecy says of the 
king of the north: 

" He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas 
in the glorious holy mountain." 

This suggests the eventual transfer, before he comes 
to his end, of the seat of his government to Jerusalem, 
or Zion, which is called "the holy mountain," Zech. 8: 3. 

Since the fortunes of war have given Jerusalem into 
the hands of the Christian powers, and since it is un- 
thinkable that the Holy City will ever be handed over 
again to the followers of the Arabian prophet, the ques- 
tion may be asked. How can these things be? 

It is not for any one to tell how the prophecy shall 
be fulfilled. It may not be amiss, however, to remark 
that the wording of the prophecy itself suggests only 
a very temporary occupation of Jerusalem by the king 
of the north, or in other words, by the forces of polit- 
ical Mohammedanism. 

" His palace " is his capital. But he plants merely 
its " tabernacles," or temporary quarters, in Jerusalem. 
True, that city is now held by Christians, but who can 
tell what may not happen by a sudden movement on the 
part of the Mohammedan world to recover from the 
" infidels " (Christians) the holy sepulcher and Holy 
City? Nor is it hard to imagine what would follow such 
a movement on the part of the Mohammedan hordes — 
it could be nothing short of a repetition of the Crusades 
and the calling of all the military forces of Western civ- 
ilization to Palestine, the old battleground of the nations, 
the scene of the Armageddon of the sixteenth chapter 
of Revelation. 

The Battle of Armageddon 

And what is Armageddon? Let Robinson's Calmet's 
" Dictionary of the Holy Bible," art. " Armageddon," 
answer, in part: 



The Eastern Question and Armageddon 87 

" Armageddon fmountain of Megiddo), a place mentioned in 
Rev. 16: 16. Megiddo is a city in the great plain, at the foot of 
Mt. Carmel, which had been the scene of much slaughter. Under 
this character it is referred to in the above text, as the place in 
which God will collect together his enemies for destruction." 

See also the " International Standard Bible Encyclo- 
pedia," art. " Har-magedon." 

In the chapter of Revelation referred to by both 
these authorities, are described the seven last plagues, 
to be visited upon the wicked forces of .earth just be- 
fore the end of this world and the second appearing 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Under the sixth of these 
plagues, which is evidently a plague of war, the great 
river Euphrates, or the Turkish power, is to be dried 
up or destroyed. 

The battle of Armageddon, it would seem, imme- 
diately follows the utter overthrow of the Turkish power, 
and evidently grows out of it, as if the armies assem- 
bled there, fighting with Megiddo as a center, when 
their common enemy, the Turk, is no more, fall upon 
one another in the most frightful slaughter of all the 
ages. This, in brief, is at least the beginning of the 
battle of Armageddon. It is the last of earth's war 
tragedies. 

That the forces of political Mohammedanism, which 
might mean practically the forces of the whole East, are 
destined to measure strength again with the combined 
armies of the West, is not only foreshadowed in Scrip- 
ture, but it is almost as clearly indicated in the way 
affairs are now shaping in the East. 

Mohammedan Eyes Turned Toward Jerusalem 

The attitude of the whole Moslem world toward Je- 
rusalem, and the trend of Mohammedan thought for 
many years, indicate a probable reaction erelong from 
the present attitude of meek acceptance of the results 



88 World Peace 

of war. It is not with the Mohammedans so much a 
political as a religious question. Jerusalem is to them 
a holy city. And it is the city, even above Mecca or 
Medina, around which the Mohammedans are to rally at 
the end of the world, according to oldest Mohammedan 
doctrine. Thus Hughes's '' Dictionary of Islam " says : 

"In Surah 1. 40 [of the Koran], one of the signs of the approach 
of the last day will be: ' The crier [to prayer] shall cry from a 
near place' (that is, a place from which all men shall hear). 
Husain says this ' near place ' is the temple at Jerusalem." — Art. 
"Jerusalem." 

One of the old commentators on the Koran, Jalalan, 
is thus summarized by Hughes: 

" It was at Jerusalem that Jesus ascended to heaven; and it 
will be there that he will again descend. ... In the last days 
there will be a general flight to Jerusalem."- — Ibid. 

Despite lack of space, may we add one more testi- 
mony to the importance attached by Islam to the hold- 
ing of Jerusalem? It is from an old Arab commentator 
and geographer, Mukaddasi (a. d. 985) : 

" As to the excellence of the city. Why, is not this to be the 
place of marshaling on the day of judgment; where the gathering 
together and the appointment will take place? Verily Makkah 
[Mecca] and Al Medina have their superiority by reason of the 
Ka'abali and the Prophet, — the blessing of Allah be upon him 
and his family! — but, in truth, on the day of judgment both 
cities will come to Jerusalem, and the excellencies of them all will 
then be united." — "Palestine under the Moslems," Le Strange, p, 85. 

Modern travelers in Turkey have long told of the 
feeling among thoughtful Turkish people that the crisis 
of their nation is at hand. Thus: 

" The Turks themselves seem generally to be convinced that their 
final hour is approaching. . . . ' It is kismet. We cannot resist 
destiny.' I heard words to this effect from many Turks, as well 
in Asia as in Europe." — ''Kismet," Macfarlane, p. 409. 

" Ancient prophecy and modern superstition alike point to the 
return of the Crescent into Asia as an event at hand. . . . The 
feeling of a coming catastrophe is so deeply rooted, and so uni- 
versal [etc.]." — "Future of Islam," Wilfred Scaicen Blunt, p. 95. 



The Easterji Question and Armageddon 89 

But a few years ago one of the Seventh-day Adventist 
missionaries in Constantinople wrote to his Mission 
Board in Washington, D. C. : 

" Within the past few months quite a company of people from 
the Transcaucasus district have come to Ismid, — old Nicomedia, 
— ■ bringing all they possess with them. Some of them possess 
considerable wealth. When asked if they were going to settle in 
Ismid, they replied that they would settle nowhere permanently at 
present. They stated that they had come to be prepared to go 
with their leader when he left Constantinople to go to Jerusalem." 

The Eastern Question Hastening to Its Final Solution 

No man may foresee just exactly how events will 
turn in detail. But the great truth rings in our ears 
like a trumpet peal: The Eastern Question is hastening 
on to its final solution, and its solution brings the end 
of the world! The prophecy declares that the final ex- 
tinction of the Turkish power ushers in the end. And 
everywhere the newspapers can see nothing but the has- 
tening of Turkey's end in the turn events have taken. 
Thus the Washington Times said editorially even at the 
time when Turkey entered the war: 

" There is not the possible chance of Turkey ultimately gain- 
ing, however the war may go. If she allies herself with Germany, 
and Germany wins, what next? . . . Turkey will be brushed out 
of Europe, and presently out of existence. . . . On the other hand, 
what if the Allies win? There will be no more of the weak-kneed 
British attitude that in the past has made Downing Street chief 
supporter of the Sick Man, lest his demise open the way for Russia 
to Constantinople. ... If the Allies win, it will mean not merely 
the end of Turkey in Europe, but of Turkey. The empire will be 
dismembered; perhaps not immediately, but in the process of no 
great period." — Nov. 1, 1914. 

Dispatches from Petrograd gave us the Russian view 
as follows (Nov. 2, 1914) : 

The Bourse Gazette: " It is Russia's opportunity. There is no 
general combination of powers such as several times saved Turkey 
from final destruction. . . . Russia accepts the challenge thrown 
down, and marches to the fulfilment of her destiny." 



90 World Peace 

The Novoe Vremya (of the day when Turkey entered the war) : 
" That day was the day of the virtual death of the once glorious 
Ottoman Empire." 

Today Russia and Turkey are both prostrate in the 
dust, Russia a prey to internal dissension, Turkey beaten 
to her knees by England and her Allies. But the situ- 
ation is not materially changed as far as the future of 
Turkey is concerned. Even should the Turk be per- 
mitted to continue as the nominal keeper of Constanti- 
nople, which seems unlikely, his authority could be only 
nominal and his reign brief. The handwriting is on 
the wall. The future of Turkey lies not in the West, but 
in the East, not in Europe, but in Asia, and there he 
comes to his end with none to help him. Just when this 
will occur no man knows. But this we may know, — 
the prophecy cannot fail. As it has been fulfilled in its 
most minute details thus far, so it will be in its remain- 
ing specifications; and in the very nature of the case 
the end cannot be long delayed. 

" Be Ye Also Ready " 

No man may tell the year or the day or the hour, 
nor the exact course of events in detail. Idle specula- 
tion or appeals merely to excitement are deplorable in 
these matters of eternal moment. But every outline of 
prophecy in all Holy Scripture cries to men now, echo- 
ing the Saviour's warning: 

" Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the 
Son of man cometh." Matt. 24: 44. 

Let not any soul say, " I will wait and see, and will 
believe and turn to God when Turkey comes to its end." 
That means eternal loss ; for it plainly appears from the 
prophecy of Revelation concerning the drying up or end- 
ing of this power, that when it comes to its end, the day 
of human probation will already have passed forever. 
The end of the Turkish power (described in Rev. 16: 12) 



The Eastern Question and Armageddon 



91 



comes after Christ's work as mediator for sinners has 
ceased in the heavenly temple. Rev. 15 : 8. It will then 
be eternally too late. Then the solemn words will have 
been spoken: 

" He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is 
filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be 
righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, 
behold, I come quickly." Rev. 22: 11, 12. 

" Now is the accepted time," not then ; " behold, now 
is the day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6: 2. 




Photo, Press Illustratint,' Service, Inc., N. Y. 

Natives of Palestine Discussing Their Country's Future 




CHRIST COMING IN GLORY 



92 




CHRIST'S PROMISE TO RETURN 



THE BLESSED HOPE OF THE SECOND 
COMING OF CHRIST 

Past chapters have spoken of our Saviour as the only 
hope of the world, and of the beginning of His reign 
as the ushering in of the kingdom of peace. Let us, 
then, dwell for a little upon that hope and the glories 
to be revealed when He shall come. 

Our Lord Himself looked forward to His return both 
as the culmination of His own work and the time of 
the realization of the hope of His people, with whom He 
left the promise, " I will come again." John 14 : 3. 

Precious, comforting, inspiring, are these words. 
The return of Jesus is a blessed hope to every believer, 
and is so described by the apostle Paul in his letter to 
Titus. 

Many stupendous events have emblazoned themselves 
in history since the dawn of time. The flood was a 
great event. So was the exodus movement, and the 

93 



94 World Peace 

giving" of the lavv on Sinai, And then, " when the ful- 
ness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, 
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them 
that were under the law, that we might receive the 
adoption of sons." Gal. 4:4, 5. 

" O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowl- 
edge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways 
past finding out! " Rom. 11: 33. 

But the crowning event of the ages, the culmination 
of the work of redemption, is the second coming of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to take to Himself His 
kingdom and His church, the purchase of His blood. 
The accessions of earthly kings have been attended with 
scenes of the greatest splendor. But no earthly pageant 
can at all compare with the magnificent, triumphal pro- 
cession when Jesus shall come crowned " King of kings, 
and Lord of lords." 

" He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of 
the holy angels." Luke 9: 26. 

That glory, which no sinner can behold and live, 
will then be revealed. Ten thousand times ten thou- 
sand, and thousands of thousands of angels, cherubim 
and seraphim, in all their glory will escort Christ when 
He rides forth a triumphant conqueror, followed by all 
the armies of heaven. 

In the triumph of ancient conquerors the captives 
were bound to their chariots, or led away to perish, but 
those whom Jesus leads will come from captivity, and 
will share His triumph in that hour when He comes as 
the conqueror of death and hell. It is the hour of their 
greatest deliverance. 

The Disciples Comforted 

On one occasion when Jesus told His disciples that 
He was soon to leave them. He comforted their sorrow- 
ing hearts by the assurance of His return: 



The Blessed Hope 95 

" Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe 
also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were 
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and 
receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be 
also." John 14: 1-3. 

This promise is as cheering to the believing child of 
God today as to the disciples standing with the Master 
almost within the shadow of the cross. What could be 
more comforting to Christians than the thought that 
Jesus is now preparing a place for them, and that when 
it is prepared, He will come again to take them to be 
with Him where He is? 

The Purpose of His Coming 

Observe the purpose of Christ's coming. As surely 
as He ascended to His Father, so surely is He to come 
again. Many think that at death we go to be with 
Jesus. But this is not true. We do not go to Him, but 
He is to come for us. This is our hope. If He did not 
return, we could never be with Him. But in supernal 
majesty and power He comes, the dead are raised, and 
the living righteous are changed from mortality to im- 
mortality. This is the great purpose of His coming. 

Comfort for the Bereaved 

Death is in the land. In nearly every home there is 

a vacant chair ; voices once heard are now silent. Hands 

that once were engaged in loving ministry are folded 

over the pulseless bosom, and sorrowfully the mourners 

go about the streets. To comfort those who mourn their 

silent dead, the apostle writes : 

" I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning 
them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not. even as others which 
have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. 
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which 
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not pre- 
vent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend 



96 World Peace 

from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and 
with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 
then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together 
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall 
we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with 
these words." 1 Thess. 4: 13-18. 

When Jesus comes, the reign of death will be broken. 

" Our Saviour comes to raise the just. 
Who long have slumbered in the dust; 
His voice will break their long repose, 
And snatch them from the last of foes." 

The enemy may for a time lock our loved ones in his 
prison-house; but the hour is coming when they will 
live again. When Jesus rides forth as the conqueror of 
death, His voice will pierce the dark, silent galleries of 
hades, and the sepulchers of God's people will be opened, 
and they will come forth clothed with life and immor- 
tality. This is indeed a cheering hope. 

How He Will Come 

Many have a wrong idea concerning the coming of 
Jesus. They think He comes at death, or at conversion, 
or in some silent, secret way. The Scriptures, however, 
teach that His coming will be personal and visible. 

" When He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He 
was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And 
while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, be- 
hold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said. 
Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same 
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in 
like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Acts 1: 9-11. 

He does not come and gather His people out of the 
world secretly, one here and another there, as some 
teach, but we are to be " caught up together " to meet 
the Lord; and together we shall ascend to the place He 
has prepared for us. He does not come secretly, for 
" every eye shall see Him." Rev. 1:7. He will come 
as He went away, a personal Saviour, escorted by a 



The Blessed Hope 97 

cloud of the heavenly host. (See Rev. 14: 14, 15.) All 
the wicked who are living will perish, but the living 
righteous will be caught up to meet their returning Lord 
in the air, and so will be ever with Him. 

Hope of Saints in All Ages 

The coming of Christ has been the Christian's hope 
through all ages. It has encouraged and cheered the 
valiant soldiers of the cross as they have bivouacked on 
life's battlefield. Enoch, " the seventh from Adam," 
prophesied, 

" Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints." 
Jude 14. 

Enoch saw the inhabitants of earth falling before 
the scythe of the grim reaper, and was troubled regard- 
ing their future. Would they live again? The problem 
was solved when, with prophetic eye, he saw the graves 
yielding their dead at the return of the Saviour. 

Job's Confidence 

The patriarch Job was called to pass through the 

valley of sore affliction. His children were slain, his 

property was swept away, his wife failed him, and the 

finger of the enemy touched his body. But in the mid.st 

of his deep affliction he exclaimed : 

" O that my words were now written! O that they were 
printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and 
lead in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer liveth. 
and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and 
though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh 
shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall 
behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within 
me." Job 19: 23-27. 

Job's praj'er was answered. His words are written 
in the Book of books. Though standing apparently on 
the brink of the tomb, face to face vrith the king of 
terrors, expecting soon to mingle with the dust whence 
he came, his faith laid hold of the immortalitj' promised 
7 



98 World Peace 

at the resurrection of the just, when the Redeemer 
shall come. This hope lightened his sorrow. 

It is ever thus. Though the heart is wrung with 
sorrow, the cheek wet with tears, and though clouds 
obscure the light, the blessed hope of Christ's coming in 
glory brings joy to the worn and weary pilgrim. 

The Hope of All Prophets 

Through the successive ages of earth's history, seers 
of God, rapt in holy vision have foretold the glories 
of the Saviour's return. 

" He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto 
you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution 
of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His 
holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3: 20, 21. 

This is the hope which these spokesmen of the 
Almighty have emphasized in all their writings. The 
sweet singer of Israel wrote of a time when, from 
the midst of devouring fire and tempestuous scenes, the 
Saviour shall come and gather His waiting people unto 
Himself. Ps. 50 : 3, 4. Isaiah speaks comfort to those 
who are weak and fearful, saying, 

" Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with 
a recompense; He will come and save you." Isa. 35: 4. 

All about US we see the afflicted and tried, swept with 
the lights and shadows of the passing years, buoyed up 
by the hope of the return of the Redeemer. Then blind 
eyes will be opened to view celestial glory, deaf ears un- 
stopped to hear the music of angel choirs, silent tongues 
loosed to sing anthems of praise and adoration; and 
the lame will be restored to walk with elastic step the 
streets of gold. 

Then " the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to 
Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall 
obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." 
Isa. 35: 10. 



The Blessed Hope 99 

The Apostle Paul's Hope 

From a Roman dungeon the apostle Paul wrote these 
triumphant words: 

" I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure 
is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give 
me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that 
love His appearing." 2 Tim. 4: 6-8. 

The shadows of his pilgrimage had lengthened. The 
storm of persecution and life's many vicissitudes had 
beat upon the great apostle. His lock^ were gray, his 
form was bent; the block and sword of the executioner 
were before him. His race was about run. • But his 
hope was bright. His sun was soon to set, but in a 
cloudless sky. He had given up all for Christ. He had 
been oft imprisoned. He had been whipped and stoned. 
He had experienced shipwreck, and had been " in deaths 
oft." He had known weariness and painfulness and hun- 
ger, cold and nakedness. But he had no regrets. It had 
been a good fight. A crown, worth far more than the 
jeweled diadem of any monarch of earth, awaited him, 
to be received " at that day " when the Lord Jesus should 
return. 

Not long after Paul wrote these words he was taken 
from his dungeon to the place of his execution. 

" Through the dust and tumult of that busy throng, the small 
troop of soldiers threaded their way silently, under the bright 
sky of an Italian midsummer. They were marching, though they 
knew it not, in a procession more truly triumphal than any they 
had ever followed, in the train of general or emperor, along the 
Sacred Way." 

Though the eartn was soon to receive the apostle's 
blood, he was not afraid. Standing at the block, he 
did not see the executioner nor the gleaming sword. 
Looking up into heaven, he exclaimed, " I am ready." 

Triumphant words, these! He was thinking of the 
reward awaiting him " at that day." His faith looked 



100 World Peace 

beyond the scenes about him to the time when the One 
whom he saw on the road to Damascus shall return with 
millions of angels in glory and power to gather home 
the true and faithful of all ages. To him this was of 
far greater value than all the world had to give. 

The End of Sin 

When Jesus comes, sin will forever cease. This mys- 
terious curse hangs like a pall of dread over the world. 
Nations pass. Thrones crumble. Kings abdicate. Em- 
pires change. Instability and decay are written upon all 
creation, — all because of sin. 

Sin has caused the curse of the Almighty to rest 
upon the earth. This awful thing reached up to heaven 
and took the Son of God from the throne. Sin is as 
black and dark as hell itself, for sin made hell. It took 
the covering cherub, the chorister of heaven, from his 
exalted position, and made him Beelzebub, the prince of 
devils. Sin causes all the war and death and sorrow 
and misery in the world. Every tombstone is a monument 
to what sin has done. Every tear, every pain, every 
heartache, is caused by sin. Gather up the terrible har- 
vest of all the unrighteousness on the earth; of all mali- 
ciousness, envy, hatred, murder; of all deceit, jealousy, 
pride, backbiting; of all blasphemy, treachery, haughti- 
ness, the horrors of war; of evil in every form and in 
every land, and you have a picture of sin. When Jesus 
comes, sin and all that goes with it will be destroyed. 

Hope of the Remnant Church 

The blessed hope of the Saviour's return, which has 
been the comfort and joy of the church in ages past, will 
comfort the people of God in the closing days of the 
church on earth. The church then is to be waiting for 
the Son of God from heaven. There is salvation in this, 
for it is to those who " look for Him " that He is to 



The Blessed Hope 101 

" appear the second time without sin unto salvation." 
Heb. 9:28. 

An ancient prophet, looking down through the ages 
to the end, said: 

"He will destroy in this mountain the face of the co\ciing 
cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. 
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe 
away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall 
He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. 
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have 
waited for Him, and He will save us; this is the Lord; we have 
waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." 
Isa. 25: 7-9. 

In that awful hour when all the tribes of the earth 
are mourning as they " see the Son of man coming in 
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory " 
(Matt. 24: 30) ; when "the kings of the earth, and the 
great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, 
and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free 
man," hide " themselves in the dens and in the rocks 
of the mountains ; and " say " to the mountains and 
rocks. Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him 
that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the 
Lamb; for the great day of His wrath is come" (Rev. 
6: 15-17), God's people will look up with joy and wel- 
come His return. 

They have been " waiting " for Him. To have been 
truly waiting and looking for Him, they must have known 
from the signs given of His return that this great event 
was near. To this phase of the subject, from the stand- 
point of what our Lord Himself said to His disciples, 
the attention of the reader is invited in the succeeding 
chapter. 




THE STAR SHOWER OF NOV. 13, 1833 



102 




Signs in the Heavens 



SIGNS OF CHRIST'S SOON COMING 

In replying to the question of His disciples, " Tell us, 
when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign 
of Thy coming, and the end of the world?" (Matt. 
24:3), Jesus very definitely defined what the signs 
were to be by which we might know that His coming 
is "near, even at the doors" (verse 33). He said: 

" Immediately after the tribulation of those days " " there 
shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and 
upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and 
the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for 
looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the 
powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the 
Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." 
Matt. 24: 29; Luke 21: 25-27. 

It should be observed that these signs were to be of 
such a character that no man or combination of men 
would be able to counterfeit them. Jesus said they 
would be seen in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars 
— all infinitely beyond the control of men. 

103 



Sicj7is of ChrisVs Soon Commg 



105 



The apostle Paul definitely wrote that the coming of 
Christ should not be looked for in his day. (See 2 
Thess. 2: 1-3.) He refers to the same "falling away," 
or time of " tribulation," which Jesus testified should 
come V first." The long night of papal persecution for 
the church is doubtless here referred to as the time 
of " tribulation." Both prophecy and history record that 
the " days " allotted to this power began in 533 to 538 
A. D. and ended in 1793 to 1798. The " tribulation," or 
persecution, ceased a few years prior to the ending of 
the " days," or the time allotted. And as Jesus, in di- 
recting the attention of His people to the time of the 
beginning of the signs, placed them " immediately after 
the tribulation of those days," we may expect the signs 
to begin to appear a few years before 1798. 

" A Great Earthquake " 

" I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there 
was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of 
hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell 
unto the earth." Rev. 6: 12, 13. 




The Lisbon Earthquake, of 1755 



106 World Peace 

This " great earthquake " is believed to be the one 
which occurred Nov. 1, 1775, known in history as " the 
Lisbon earthquake," because Lisbon seemed to be at the 
center of disturb'ance, although many other cities in 
Europe and Northern Africa were wholly or in part 
destroyed by it. 

It extended over 4,000,000 square miles. It affected 
the greater portion of Europe and Africa, and was 
felt even in America, but its extreme violence was exer- 
cised on the southwestern part of Europe. At Lisbon 
it is estimated that 90,000 persons perished on that 
fatal day in the space of about six minutes. 

One who passed through it, an English merchant 
who was in Lisbon at the time, graphically describes his 
experience thus: 

" The whole house began to shake from the very foundation." 
" On hearkening," he said he heard " a strange, frightful kind of 
noise underground, resembling the hollow distant rumbling of 
thunder. All this passed in less than a minute." " I threw down 
my pen, and started upon my feet, . . . being instantly stunned 
with a most horrid crash, as if every edifice in the city had tum- 
bled down at once. . . . 

" The second great shock came on, little less violent than the 
first, and completed the ruin of those buildings which had been 
already much shattered. The consternation now became so uni- 
versal that the shrieks and cries of ' Miser icordia! ' [' Have mercy 
upon our poor hearts!' — thinking the great judgment day was 
at hand] could be distinctly heard from the top of St. Catherine's 
Hill, at a considerable distance off, whither a vast number of 
people had likewise retreated; at the same time we could hear the 
fall of the parish church there, whereby many persons were killed 
on the spot, and others mortally wounded. You may judge the 
force of this shock, when I inform you it was so violent that I 
could scarce keep on my knees; but it was attended with some 
circumstances still more dreadful than the former. On a sudden 
I heard a general outcry, ' The sea is coming in, we shall all be 
lost! ' Upon this, turning my eyes toward the river, which in that 
place is near four miles broad, I could perceive it heaving and 
swelling in the most unaccountable manner, as no wind was stir- 
ring. In an instant there appeared at some small distance a large 
body of water, rising as it were like a mountain. It came on, 



Signs of Christ's Soon Coming 107 

foaming and roaring, and rushed toward the shore with such im- 
petuosity that we all immediately ran for our lives as fast as 
possible; many were actually swept away. . . . For my own part 
I had the narrowest escape, and should have certainly been lost 
had I not grasped a large beam that lay on the ground, till the 
water returned to its channel, which it did almost at the same 
instant, with equal rapidity. 

" I . . . observed the ships tumbling and tossing about as in 
a violent storm; some had broken their cables, and were carried 
to the other side of the Tagus; others were whirled round with 
incredible swiftness; several large boats were turned keel up- 
ward; and all this without any wind, which seemed the more 
astonishing. It was at the time of which I am now speaking 
that the fine new quay, built entirely of rough marble, at an im- 
mense expense, was entirely swallowed up, with all the people on 
it, who had fled thither for safety, and had reason to think them- 
selves out of danger in such a place. At the same time, a number 
of boats and small vessels, anchored near it (all likewise full of 
people, who had retired thither for the same purpose), were all 
swallowed up, as in a whirlpool, and never more appeared." — 
" Half Hours with the Best Authors,'' Vol. II, pp. 370-375. 

Darkening of the Sun and Moon 

" I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I 
will darken the earth in the clear day." Amos 8 : 9. 

" On the 19th of May, 1780, an uncommon darkness took place 
all over New England, and extended to Canada. It continued 
about fourteen hours, or from ten o'clock in the morning until 
midnight. The darkness was so great [even at midday] that peo- 
ple were unable to read common print, or to tell the time of the 
day by their watches, or to dine, or transact their ordinary busi- 
ness without the light of candles. They became dull and gloomy, 
and some were excessively frightened." — " The Guide to Knowl- 
edge, or Repertory of Facts,'' edited by Robert Sears, p. 428. New 
York, 1845. (Astor Library.) 

As to how people were impressed by this sign, this 
testimony is borne: 

"In the month of May, 1780, there was a very terrific dark 
day in New England, when ' all faces seemed to gather blackness,' 
and the people were filled with fear. There was great distress in 
the village where Edward Lee lived, ' men's hearts failing them 
for fear,' that the judgment day was at hand; and the neighbors 
flocked around the holy man; for his lamp was trimmed and shin- 
ing brighter than ever amid the unnatural darkness. Happy and 



108 World Peace 

joyful in God, he pointed them to their only refuge from the wrath 
to come, and spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the 
distressed multitude." — " Life of Edward Lee," No. 379 (old series), 
American Tract Society. 

Of the darkening of the moon the following night, 
though that orb was at the full, we have this testimony : 

" The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross 
as ever has been observed since the Almighty fiat gave birth to 
light. It wanted only palpability to render it as extraordinary as 
that which overspread the land of Egypt in the days of Moses. 
... If every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in 
impenetrable shades, or struck out of existence, the darkness 
could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held 
within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the 
blackest velvet." — Letter of Dr. Samuel Tenney, dated Exeter, N. H., 
December, 1785; cited in " Collections of Massachusetts Historical 
Society," Vol. I, 1792. 

Here, then, in 1780, according to these reliable state- 
ments, God showed to the world the first two of the signs 
Jesus Himself gave to His inquiring disciples on the 
Mount of Olives as foreshadowing His advent near. No 
candid person can gainsay their reliability, or afRrm 
that they did not appear at the time predicted. 

The Falling Stars 

The next sign that Jesus declared would be seen was, 
" The stars shall fall from heaven." And to this descrip- 
tion the apostle John adds, " even as a fig tree cast- 
eth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty 
wind." Rev. 6: 13. 

Here is the statement of an eyewitness who beheld 
this wonderful display of God's great power, as mani- 
fested in the early morning of Nov. 13, 1833: 

" Compared with the splendors of this celestial exhibition, the 
most brilliant rockets and fireworks of art bore less relation than 
the twinkling of the most tiny star to the broad glare of the sun. 
The whole heavens seemed in motion, and little need have been 
borrowed from the morbid sensibility, to imagine that the opening 
of the sixth seal was indeed at hand when the stars of heaven fell 



Signs of Christ's Soon Coming 109 

unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when 
she is shaken of a mighty wind. Never before has it fallen to our 
lot to observe a phenomenon so magnificent and sublime." — A 
correspondent of the Neio York Commercial Advertiser, quoted in the 
Eastern Argus (Portland, Maine) of Nov. 18, 1833. 

"We pronounce the raining fire which we saw on Wednesday 
morning last an awful type, a sure forerunner, a merciful sign, of 
that great and dreadful day which the inhabitants of the earth will 
witness when the sixth seal shall be opened. 

" That time is just at hand described not only in the New Tes- 
tament, but in the Old; and a more correct picture of a fig tree 
casting its leaves when blown by a mighty wind, it was not pos- 
sible to behold." — ''The Old Countryman," New York, printed in the 
New York Star and quoted in the Portland Evening Advertiser, Nov. 
26, 1833. (Portland Public Library.) 

It is significant, and worthy of more than passing 
notice, that during each of these signs, foretelling as 
they do the supreme event of Christ's second advent, the 
hearts of people were filled with a nameless terror. 
Why was this? Evidently because the people were not 
ready to meet their Lord and Master. Their cherished 
and unforgiven sins filled their hearts with fear and 
dread. 

The Signs Fulfilled 

Thus four great outstanding signs of the return of 
Jesus Christ to this earth — the darkening of the sun 
and moon, the falling of the stars, and the great earth- 
quake — have taken place, and are now chronicled upon 
the tablet of history. They tell us of the great day of 
the Lord, near, " even at the door." The ushering in of 
that day will be marked by a " time of trouble, such as 
never was since there was a nation even to that same 
time." Dan. 12: 1. 

The events to take place at that time are recorded 
in Revelation 16. Even the anguish of the World Vv^ar, 
with its loss of life and other great calamities, such as 
the almost universal sweep of Spanish influenza over 
the world, with its awful harvest of death, which in 



110 World Peace 

some countries was even greater than their fatalities in 
the war, cannot approach in extent or magnitude this 
coming " time of trouble," 

The Bible points out that this time, when God's wrath 
in terrible judgments and plagues shall burst upon our 
world, is just ahead. The terror of men in that day, 
portrayed somewhat in the anguish and fear accom- 
panying the signs already presented, will be universal. 
Think of the Lisbon earthquake as universal, and you 
will get some idea of just one event foretold to take 
place during this time of trouble, of which John, the 
beloved apostle, wrote: 

" There were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there 
was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the 
earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great. . . . And the cities 
of the nations fell." Rev. 16: 18, 19. 

Think of it, all cities to be shaken down! 

The protection of the Almighty in that day will be 
of more value than untold millions hoarded in bank 
vaults. And none except those whose names are written 
in the book of life will be saved alive out of this " time 
of trouble, such as never was." But this gracious prom- 
ise is given those whose names are found in that book 
of life: 

" At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that 
shall be found written in the book." Dan. 12: 1. 

The Earth Corrupted by Sin 

It is sin, the transgression of God's holy law (1 John 

3:4), that corrupts the inhabitants of earth. The earth 

is " defiled under the inhabitants thereof." Isa. 24 : 5. 

Jesus foretold the social conditions that should prevail 

down at the end, when He said that this would be like 

the days of Noah. How was it then? 

" God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, 
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only 
evil continually." " All flesh had corrupted his way upon the 
earth." Gen. 6: 5, 12. 



Signs of Christ's Soon Coming 111 

Here is the picture, as given by the prophet Hosea, 
of the condition prevaihng just prior to Jesus' second 
coming, when " every 07ie that dwelleth " in the land 
"shall languish." He saj^s: 

" The Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the 
land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God 
in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, 
and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth 
blood." Hosea 4: 1-3. 

Do these general conditions prevail today? Do we 
see people seeking after truth, valuing it above every- 
thing else ? Or are falsehood and deceit and fiction more 
in evidence? Do men exercise mercy in dealing with 
one another? And how little men really know of God! 
" Swearing, and lying, and killing, and committing adul- 
tery " ! The newspapers are burdened with the recital 
of merely a fraction of just such iniquity as Hosea por- 
trayed, going on principally in large cities, yet prevalent 
everywhere. Terrible revelations are made by ofRcials 
dealing with the abominable white-slave traffic. Divorce 
courts reveal a little of the corruption existing at the 
very heart of society itself. Surely, as God looks down 
into the hearts of men and women today, he must see 
the recurrence almost, if not quite, of the same condi- 
tions that prevailed in Noah's day. And this, remember, 
constitutes another sign that the end is near. 

Distress of Nations with Perplexity 

At no period in history has there been such a time 
of universal distress and perplexity among nations as 
since the beginning of the World War. This " distress," 
" with perplexity," is world-wide in its scope, involving 
the large, strong nations, as well as the smaller and 
weaker ones. Statesmen have been and still are mightily 
perplexed, and repeatedly have they said so. 

Then, too, the distress in millions of homes, caused 
by the death of loved ones, is appalling. Who dare say 



112 World Peace 

that Jesus, from the Mount of Olives, did not have His 
eyes fixed upon this very time when He said, " And upon 
earth distress of nations, with perplexity " ? Another 
marked sign revealing His coming " near." 

Prepare to Meet God 

These great signs of the approach of the day of God 
are of themselves of value only as they are heeded as 
clarion appeals from heaven to all mankind to prepare 
to meet God. This means that we are to look to Jesus 
Christ for the forgiveness of sin, and to obtain from Him 
the necessary cleansing of heart. He says : " Come unto 
Me" (Matt. 11:28-30; "if we confess our sins, He is 
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse 
us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9); and "a 
new heart also will I give you " (Eze. 36: 26). All this 
he waits to do for us now : while in that " day of the 
Lord " it will be too late, even though one plead with 
bitter tears ; for then there will be no Intercessor. 

Jesus did not say the world would be converted before 
His return, but He did say, " This gospel of the king- 
dom shall be preached in all the world for a witness 
unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt. 
24: 14. 

Here then we have another sign of the end, a sign 
that all can see; namely, the rapid and unparalleled 
spread of the gospel. There is in the Scriptures no 
promise of the world's conversion, nor is there seen 
upon the horizon any indication of such a change from 
present conditions; but we do see this gospel of the 
kingdom encircling the earth and entering all lands, giv- 
ing everywhere the message, " Behold, the Bridegroom 
cometh; go ye out to meet Him." 

Reader, are you ready for that great day? This very 
book placed in your hands may constitute a call from 
God to you to " prepare to meet thy God." Of that Son 



Signs of Christ's Soo7i Coming 113 

of man whom you must meet in " that day," whom you 
will behold in all His glory, we read: 

" Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of right- 
eousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved right- 
eousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath 
anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows." Heb. 
1: 8, 9. 

If we would share with Him in that glory and glad- 
ness when He comes, we must here and now learn from 
Him to love righteousness and to hate iniquity. In other 
words, we must first become partakers of His own di- 
vine nature ; and this we may do through divine grace. 



Only waiting till the shadows 

Are a little longer grown. 
Only waiting till the glimmer 

Of the day's last beam is flown, 
Till the night of death has faded 

From the heart once full of day, 
Till the stars of heaven are breaking 

Through the twilight soft and gray. 

Waiting for a brighter dwelling 

Than I ever yet have seen. 
Where the tree of life is blooming, 

And the fields are ever green; 
Waiting for my full redemption. 

When my Saviour shall restore 
All that sin has caused to wither 

On this dreary, mortal shore. 

— Mrs. Frances L. Mace. 




THE EVERLASTING KINGDOM OF PEACE 



114 




The Saints' Eternal Home 



THE NEXT UNIVERSAL KINGDOM 

Perhaps enough has been said to impress the reader 
of these pages that instead of planning for long years 
of life in this world and for the well-being of future 
generations of men, believers should themselves be pre- 
paring and persuading others to prepare for participa- 
tion in the soon-coming glorious kingdom of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. But there may still be in some minds a 
question relative to the return of the Jews and the re- 
establishment of the kingdom of Israel in Palestine, — 
something which not a few believe must take place be- 
fore the second coming of our Lord, Let us therefore 
in this closing chapter study this question, not in the 
light of preconceived opinions, but in the light of God's 
Word. 

As shown in the chapter of this book entitled, " The 
Nations Fulfilling Prophecy" (page 59), prophecy pre- 
dicts and history records the rise and fall of four world 
empires. Prophecy predicts also a fifth great world em- 
us 



116 World Peace 

pire, which is still future. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, 
and Rome fulfilled the first prediction. The establish- 
ment of the fifth great world empire, namely, the king- 
dom of peace under the blessed rule of Christ the Lord, 
will fulfil the second prediction. 

The Fifth World Empire 

The four great world empires have come and gone. 
We are living in the divided state of the fourth. The 
grand climax of the lines of prophecy recorded in the 
second and seventh chapters of Daniel, the establishment 
of the everlasting kingdom of peace, is the thrilling 
event for which we may still look. That the time for 
the establishment of this kingdom has been almost 
reached is demonstrated not alone by the prophecies to 
which we have referred, but by other prophecies and 
signs which indicate that soon the kingdoms of this 
world must give place to the kingdom of our Lord and 
of His Christ. 

The Character of the Kingdom 

A true understanding of the coming kingdom of 
Christ and its relation to the return of the Jews to 
Jerusalem and to the rehabilitation of the ancient city 
and land of Israel, involves a study of God's original 
design and purpose regarding the earth and its inhabit- 
ants. As we trace the unfolding of this purpose as re- 
vealed in the history of His dealings with His chosen 
people, we shall find the answer to the questions herein 
suggested. 

God's Original Design 

God's design in the creation of this earth is clearly 
stated by the prophet Isaiah to be, that it should " be 
inhabited." Isa. 45 : 18. 

After the creation, the world was given to mankind 
as an everlasting abode, this gift carrying with it both 



The Next Universal Kingdom 117 

possession of territory and authority to rule. Gen. 1 : 27, 
28; Ps. 115: 16. 

As a type of what the earth was finally to become, 
God bestowed upon our first parents the garden of Eden 
as a home. From this place they were to multiply, and 
reach out and subdue the whole earth. The continued 
possession of this home was on condition of obedience. 
This condition Adam and Eve did not fulfil, and in con- 
sequence they were driven out from Eden, and became 
wanderers on the face of the earth. Genesis 3. The 
terrible fruits of their sin were soon manifest, and 
Adam's posterity widely departed from God. In conse- 
quence, the earth was destroyed by a flood of waters. 
Noah and his family were saved as the progenitors of 
a new race; but another terrible apostasy followed, re- 
sulting in the God-defying effort on the plain of Shinar 
to build a tower which should reach unto heaven. For 
this their speech was confounded, and they were scat- 
tered abroad on the face of the earth. 

God's Purpose Unchanged 

But notwithstanding this expression of God's dis- 
pleasure, His purpose to give the earth to a holy people 
remained unchanged. He saw among earth's multitudes 
a man in whose heart was a love for right and truth, 
so He chose Abraham as the father of a new family line, 
promising that through his seed should all nations of 
the earth be blessed, and that through this seed Abra- 
ham himself should come into possession of the land. 
Gen. 13 : 14-17. 

This promise included not merely the land of Ca- 
naan, but the whole world, and was made to Abraham, 
not through the law of literal descent, but through the 
righteousness of faith. 

" The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was 
not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the 
righteousness of faith." Rom. 4: 13, 



118 World Peace 

Christ, the Promised Seed 

While Abraham's seed through whom the promise 
would be fulfilled was to be his own literal descend- 
ant, he was to be one who in his own pre-eminent 
right, through the grace of his righteousness and the 
merit of his character, possessed the power to make 
possible the realization of the promise. This was Jesus 
Christ. The apostle Paul emphatically declares that 
Christ was the seed through whom the promise was to 
be fulfilled. Gal. 3 : 16. 

The Heirs of the Promise 

This promise to Abraham included all that was em- 
braced in the gift of this earth to our first parents. 
It included not alone possession of territory, but also 
authority to rule. Abraham's seed should possess " the 
gate of his enemies." Gen. 22 : 16-18. 

Abraham's literal descendants were counted as par- 
takers with him only as they entered into the promise 
through faith in the Seed. In other words, the children 
of faith in Christ Jesus were counted the children of 
Abraham, and heirs of the divine promise. 

" If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs 
according to the promise." Gal. 3: 29. 

The Meaning of " Israel " 

This brings us to the consideration of what is meant 
by the term " Israel." The original meaning of the 
term is a prince that has power to prevail with God 
and with men. Gen. 32 : 28. It is a designation of 
spiritual character, rather than of blood relationship or 
distinctive nationality, and is so used throughout the 
Bible. Rom. 2 : 28, 29. And again in Romans 9 : 6-8, 
the same truth is stated even more clearly and unmis- 
takably. 

Referring to the natural branches of the olive tree 
as the Jewish nation, the apostle says : 



The Next Universal Kingdom 119 

" Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou [believ- 
ers from the Gentiles] standest by faith." Rom. 11: 20. 

In place of these natural branches which were broken 
off, the Gentile nations were grafted in, and the apostle 
declares that those who fell by unbelief, the natural 
branches, " if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be 
grafted in : for God is able to graft them in again." 
Verse 23. We must therefore conclude that the promise 
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob was made, not to 
the Jews after the flesh, but to spiritual Israel, embrac- 
ing in the plan and purpose of God men and women of 
righteous character of every nationality in every age. 

Literal Canaan Typical of Heavenly Canaan 

And throughout the history of Israel this purpose 
on the part of God was maintained and this idea kept 
before them. Repeatedly, God promised to bestow not 
only the land of Canaan but the entire earth upon Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob. And when David came into pos- 
session of literal Palestine, the Lord emphasized anew 
that this literal possession was only typical of the greater 
inheritance which He had in store for His people in the 
future. In the days of his glory the record concerning 
David is, 

" The Lord had given him rest round about from all his ene- 
mies." 2 Sam. 7: 1. 

The throne and kingdom of Israel had been securely 
established in the land of Canaan, but even in this time 
of national prosperity God pointed Israel to another time 
and another state wherein the fulness of His promise to 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was to be realized. 2 Sam. 
7: 10. At this time the Lord promised to establish 
David's house in Israel forever: 

" Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever 
before thee: thy throne shall be established forever." Verse 16. 



120 World Peace 

The analysis of this promise proves it to be identical 
with the promise made to Abraham. The maintenance 
of David's throne forever was not to come through an 
unbroken succession of rulership from father to son, but 
was to come through the Lord Jesus Christ as the seed 
of David, the same as Christ was the seed of Abraham. 
Luke 1 : 32, 33. 

Had David remained true to God, it is possible that 
this promise might have been fulfilled to David in an 
unbroken succession of literal reign on the part of his 
sons; for the Lord promised that if His people would 
walk in His ways and keep His commandments, Jeru- 
salem should stand forever. Jer. 17 : 24, 25. 

In just what manner this promise would have been 
fulfilled if David's descendants had remained true to 
God, is not revealed. We may know only the course of 
events which did occur, not what might have been. 

Captivity of the Ten Tribes 

But Israel rebelled against God, and under Reho- 
boam's reign the literal descendants of Abraham, of 
Isaac, and of Jacob were divided into two kingdoms, 
the history of which throughout was rapidly downward. 

Few if any redeeming traits of character were pos- 
sessed by any of the kings of the ten tribes. Finally 
their iniquity became so great that God sold them into 
the hands of the Assyrians. They were carried away 
captive, and Assyrian colonists took their place in the 
land of Israel. 2 Kings 17 : 6, 24. 

" I Will Overturn, Overturn, Overturn " 

Zedekiah was the last of David's literal seed to sit 
upon the throne of Judah, as king of the two remaining 
tribes. In his reign, the Lord brought against Judah 
the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, and the people of this 
remaining kingdom were carried away captive to Baby- 



The Next Univeisal Kingdom 121 

Ion, as their brethren of the ten tribes had been carried 
away captive by the Assyrians. See 2 Chron. 36: 11-21. 

After this dispersion of the twelve tribes among the 
nations of the East, various efforts were made to gather 
them again to their own land. Special movements, 
headed by Ezra, Nehemiah, and others, originated under 
the reigns of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. And under 
the last-named king these efforts were successful in the 
partial revival of the Jewish state. But this existed, not 
as an independent nationality, but wholly as a Persian 
colony. 

At the time of the capture of Zedekiah, the Lord, 
through Ezekiel, pronounced against that prince this 
sentence : 

" Thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, 
when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God: Remove 
the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: 
exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, 
overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until He come 
whose right it is; and I will give it Him." Eze. 21: 25-27. 

This scripture indicates that there were to be three 
overturnings of rulership in this world. When the dia- 
dem was taken from the head of Zedekiah, the kingdom 
of Israel and world dominion passed to Nebuchadnezzar. 
All the kingdoms of the earth were subject to his sov- 
ereignty. Babylonian rule continued until the kingdom 
was succeeded by Medo-Persia. This constituted the 
first overturning, for Judah was already tributary to 
Babylon when the prophecy was given. The Medo- 
Persian rule continued until it was succeeded by Grecia. 
This constituted the second overturning. The passing of 
world dominion to Rome constituted the third over- 
turning. 

The Coming of the Seed 

The prophecy declares : " It shall be no more, until 
He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him." 



122 World Peace 

To whom does this refer? It certainly can refer to 
none other than to the seed of Abraham, who is to 
possess " the gate of his enemies ; " to the one in David's 
line who is to perpetuate to all eternity the rule of 
David upon his throne. This seed of Abraham, this son 
of David, is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
upon Him at His second coming will the kingdom be 
bestowed. 

Isaiah utters a beautiful prophecy concerning the 
rulership and kingdom of Christ in chapter 9:6, 7. 

Christ, at His first advent, likens Himself to a cer- 
tain nobleman who " went into a far country to receive 
for himself a kingdom, and to return." Luke 19 : 12. 

The psalmist describes how Christ, the Seed, shall 
possess the " gate of His enemies." Ps. 2 : 7-9. 

Time of the Kingdom 

The bestowal of Christ's kingdom will take place in 
connection with the last great judgment. The scene is 
described in Daniel 7 : 9, 10, 13, 14. 

Turn and read what Zechariah says of the time when 
Christ shall return to earth to take the kingdom. Zech. 
14 : 4-9. 

The prophet Daniel speaks of this same time, when 
this earth, peopled with the Israel of God, gathered 
from every age and clime, becomes the kingdom of the 
Son of David: 

" The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the king- 
dom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the 
saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting king- 
dom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." Dan. 7: 27. 

Abraham Not Disappointed 

It is to this time that the Israel of God in every age 
have looked forward. It is the time to which Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob looked for obtaining their possession 
through the promised Seed. Abraham did not die a 



The Next Universal Kingdom 123 

disappointed man, although, as Stephen declares, God 
gave him no inheritance in the land of Canaan, " no, 
not so much as to set his foot on : yet He promised 
that He would give it to him for a possession." Acts 
7 : 5. Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to 
him for righteousness, for he looked beyond this present 
evil world for the fulfilment of the promise. To this 
the apostle Paul bears definite testimonj^ in Hebrews 
11:8-10. 

Nor did the children of faith who counted their de- 
scent from Abraham feel that God had been untrue to 
His promise. The record says: 

" These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but 
having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and em- 
braced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims 
on the earth." " But now they desire a better country, that is, a 
heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: 
for He hath prepared for them a city." Heb. 11: 13, 16. 

David also, through faith, grasped the truth that 
God's promise to him was not of a temporal, but of an 
eternal inheritance. This appears from this prophecy 
which the royal psalmist was inspired to write: 

" My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone 
out of My lips. Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not 
lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as 
the sun before Me. It shall be established forever as the moon, 
and as a faithful witness in heaven." Ps. 89: 3 4-3 7. 

How is the original promise to receive its fulfilment? 
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have long since passed away. 
Millions of their literal descendants after the flesh are 
in their graves. Multitudes of the children of faith have 
died in hope. David, to whom the promise was so defi- 
nitely renewed, is dead ; but God's word cannot be 
broken. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 
So far as the carrying out of His promises is concerned, 
a thousand years are with Him as one day, and one day 
as a thousand years. Long ages may pass away, but 



124 World Peace 

the promises of God are as much a part of His eternal 
purpose as if tliey were made but yesterday. Those 
promises will be fulfilled. They can be fulfilled only by 
God's bringing- to life again those to whom long ages 
ago the promises were made. The promises can be 
fulfilled only as God takes this sin-cursed earth and 
brings it back to its Edenic beauty, giving it to Abra- 
ham, and through his Seed to the righteous of every 
age, as an everlasting possession. 

And this hope in the resurrection, and in the fulfil- 
ment of the promises of God through the resurrection, 
has been the hope of the church in every age. Acts 
2 : 29-32. 

The apostle Paul sets forth the resurrection as the 
hope of the church. It was for this hope that his work 
was called in question by the opposers of the gospel 
(Acts 23:6); and in his defense, before Agrippa the 
apostle plainly declares that for his faith in the resur- 
rection of the Lord Jesus was he brought into judgment, 
— " for the hope of the promise made of God unto our 
fathers." Acts 26: 6-8. 

It is through the resurrection from the dead that the 
gathering of Israel is to take place. Isa. 26: 19. 

The Valley of Dry Bones 

This gathering of Israel through the resurrection is 
graphically portrayed in the thirty-seventh chapter of 
Ezekiel. The prophet represents himself as walking 
through a valley of dry bones and witnessing the mani- 
festation of the divine power in their revival from the 
dust. Eze. 37: 1-10. 

We do not need to speculate as to the meaning of 
this scripture. The following verses afford a very full 
and complete explanation as to the means by which 
these dry bones are caused to live, and show that it is 
through the power of the resurrection. Verses 11-14. 



The Next Universal Kingdom 125 

This work of restoration in the last great day, which 

is wrought through the power of God in bringing from 

their graves His children of every age, is represented 

as the gathering of Israel. He says: 

"Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O My people, I will open 
your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and 
bring you into the land of Israel." " Behold, I will take the chil- 
dren of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and 
will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own 
land." Verses 12, 21. 

The Throne of David Re-established 

And when God gathers His people, Israel shall be 
one, the tribes shall again be reunited, and the throne 
of David shall be established, and Christ, the Son of 
David, the Seed of Abraham, shall sit upon that throne. 
Verses 22-27. 

God Tabernacles with Men 

It is worth while to compare the promise in the 
above scripture, that God's tabernacle shall be among 
His people, with the following words found in the 
twenty-first chapter of Revelation: 

" I heard a great voice out of heaven saying. Behold, the tab- 
ernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they 
shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be 
their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; 
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, 
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are 
passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said. Behold, I 
make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these 
words are true and faithful." Verses o-.5. 

The prophet Jeremiah, speaking of this glad gather- 
ing time, declares: 

" Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in 
the isles afar off, and say. He that scattereth Israel will gather 
him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord 
hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him 
that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in 
the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the 
Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of 



126 World Peace 

the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered 
garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all." Jer. 31: 
10-12. 

The Territory of the Kingdom 

As the power of God brings up from the dead the 
children of Israel of every age, transforming them from 
mortality to immortality, from corruption to incorrup- 
tion (1 Cor. 15:51-55), He prepares for them an in- 
heritance, eternal and undefiled. This earth is brought 
back to the same state of beauty and purity and bless- 
edness it enjoyed when it came forth from the hand 
of its Creator. Describing the glories of the inheritance, 
the prophet says: 

" The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; 
and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall 
blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the 
glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel 
and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excel- 
lency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the 
feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart. Be strong, 
fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God 
with a recompense; He will come and save you. Then the eyes of 
the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be un- 
stopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue 
of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, 
and streams in the desert." " And the ransomed of the Lord shall 
return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon 
their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and 
sighing shall flee away." Isa. 35: 1-6, 10. 

The First Dominion Restored 

To the first Adam was given the first dominion. He 
lost it through sin. Christ, the second Adam, by the 
sacrifice of Himself, bought back man from the bondage 
of Satan, and redeemed the lost inheritance. Rom. 
8: 19-23. 

" Thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter 
of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the 
kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah 4: 8. 

Through Christ, the Tower of the flock, the eternal 
purpose of God in peopling this world with a holy race 



The Next Universal Kingdom 127 

will be fulfilled. Through the power of His righteous- 
ness and the might of His strong arm the gathering of 
Israel will take place. 

This is the only gathering to which the Israel of God 
may look forward today. The literal seed of Abraham 
may still look for the coming of the Messianic age. 
Politicians and statesmen may hold out to them the hope 
of returning national prosperity, and this hope for a 
little time may meet with partial realization. But the 
return of a few thousand, or for that matter several 
million, Jews to Jerusalem will not constitute the grand 
consummation set before the Israel of God in the Scrip- 
tures of Truth. The promise of restoration will be ful- 
filled only when that great multitude which no man can 
number, gathered from all the nations of the earth, and 
from every generation, will sit down with Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of our God. Matt. 
8: 11, 12; Revelation 7. 

The Eternal Rest 

Israel after the flesh could not enter into the rest of 
God because of unbelief. Hebrews 4. Into the eternal 
rest spiritual Israel will enter when they are gathered 
from all lands at the second coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

" In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand 
for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and 
His rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, 
that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover 
the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and 
from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam. 
and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the 
sea. He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall as- 
semble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed 
of Judah from the four corners of the earth." Isa. 11: 10-12. 

And the Lord promises that He will no more pull 
Israel up from the land of their inheritance, but they 
shall dwell therein forever: 



128 World Peace 

" I will bring again the captivity of My people of Israel, and 
they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall 
plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; thoy shall also make 
gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon 
their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land 
which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God," Amos 9: 14, 15. 

The Last Gathering Call 

The gospel message gathering out the Israel of God 
from among the nations of men will go with special 
power in the days just preceding the second coming of 
Christ. Said the Master: 

" This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the 
world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end 
come." Matt. 24: 14. 

The Desire of Ages 

When the gospel message has accomplished its work 
and from every nation and people the full number of the 
Israel of God has been made up, then Christ, the prom- 
ised Seed, the Desire of the church in every age, will 
come to take the kingdom. Then shall the kingdoms of 
this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of His 
Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. Unlike 
the preceding four world empires, that kingdom will 
know no end. It will never be marred by the ravages 
of war nor depopulated by pestilence. Its inhabitants 
shall never say, I am sick. Peace, eternal peace, joy 
without one dimming cloud of sorrow, will be the glo- 
rious heritage of its people. Into that glorious realm 
may all who read these words be privileged to enter 
through the grace and mercy of Him who by His sac- 
rificial death has made possible this glorious inheritance 
of His saints. 



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